


Give Up the Ghost

by LexiCon



Series: Dlots stories [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Axe wants a friend, Blue and Viper are slowly losing their minds, Blue has terrible ideas, Dreams and Nightmares, Frisk ain't got no time for yo shit Rex, Gen, Give Axe all the love, Graphic Description of Corpses, Mysterious Creatures, Night Terrors, No More Resets (Undertale), She will z snap all over your existence, She's trying to save your brother, So many great news for Swapy, Some scary scenes (I mean Axe is here so...), Swapy is a stressed boi, Undertale Monsters on the Surface, graphic depiction of eye trauma, slightly above canon level violence, that really want to crunch some bones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2020-12-22 21:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 45,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21083681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LexiCon/pseuds/LexiCon
Summary: "Uh, hey Axe?" Viper called out cautiously. The hunched figure in front of them took a single staggering step forward. Blue grabbed his friend's arm tightly. Something wasn't right. The skeleton monster look more...wrong... than usual.Viper cleared his throat and tried again. "Axe? Are you okay over there? We haven't seen you for a few hours." The figure let out an ungodly shriek that sent chills down the boys' spines. Axe might have been strange, but even they could tell was definitely NOT their friend.





	1. Best Laid Plans

**Author's Note:**

> Halloween special for DLOTS by Imjustalazycat on tumblr.

_"Walls have ears; Doors have eyes; Trees have voices; Beasts tell lies; Beware the rain; Beware the snow; Beware the man; You think you know"- Songs of Sapphire_

Chapter One

Autumn was in full swing in the little town of Ebott. The gigantic trees that surrounded the buildings and houses were in the middle of changing from brilliant greens to fiery shades of red, orange and yellow, and drifting down to cover the lawns and sidewalks so they crunched beneath the booted feet of the residents going about their daily lives. The air had taken on a crisper note and the balmy temperatures of summer were slowly dropping to cooler ones of fall. Shorts and tank tops were traded for jackets, long pants and leggings and flip flops and sandals for boots and tennis shoes. 

Viper was spending a quiet evening at home. His older brother was off with their group of friends at the local pumpkin patch and corn maze for the night. He had decided to stay behind and review all of the reports he’d missed while he’d been on vacation. He was sitting in his living room, trying to read the messy writing of the guards, but he kept getting distracted. The distraction came in the form of a small, hyperactive skeleton monster nicknamed Blue 

His friend had come over to keep him ‘company’ while the others were out. Viper had been slightly suspicious when the other had come bounding over with a family pack of tacos and one of his favorite movies. According to Blue, pumpkin patches and mazes were boring and he was itching for the company of his best friend. Viper actually managed to go through several reports before Blue finally brought up the true reason he’d come over.

“A...camping...trip...?” Viper’s tone was flat.“You are aware that we have actual jobs to go to right?” He stared, unimpressed at his friend, who only continued to smile widely at him as if he hadn’t just made the weirdest suggestion ever. He leaned back against the arm of the couch with his stupid grin.

An empty box of blueberry Nutrigrain bars lay on its side between them, along with a half empty taco box while the TV played the movie softly in the background. 

“Okay hear me out,” he said explained.“My follower count has hit a major plateau so I was searching the internet for ideas and I found this park that supposedly has some old haunted buildings in it and I think a trip might be just the thing to reverse my fortunes. And I know for a fact that you could use a break from all this boring paperwork.”

Viper glared at her in disbelief. “I should have known that this was some stupid bit for Instagram.” he muttered. Blue gasped in mock outrage and placed a hand over his soul. 

“I can’t believe you’d say something like that.” he pouted. “Maybe I’m feeling particularly adventurous, something wrong with that?” Viper raised an eyebrow. 

“Three things,” he said, fighting back a grin. “One: you absolutely hate nature remember? That’s why you refused to go to a corn maze?” He set his papers down on his lap and held out a finger. He had a feeling that he wouldn’t be getting any more work done tonight. “Two: You once told me that the only way you could be happy was being surrounded with wifi. And three: A cabin out in the middle of the woods is a pretty precise combination of both of the things you hate.” Blue rolled his eyes. 

“My point still stands. We deserve a break And we’d obviously go over the weekend.” he grumbled. Viper grinned, knowing that he’d caught him.

“Right,” he said and leaned back against his own armrest. “So besides the obvious point of how you hate everything about camping, how the hell did you manage to convince Swapy to let you out of his sight for an entire weekend?” Blue raised a knowing eyebrow. Viper really didn’t appreciate that look. 

“What?” he asked warily. “I hate when you give me that look.” 

Blue grinned sheepishly. “Well, he and I have come to an understanding. He agreed to let me do this one challenge as long as I agreed not to go alone” 

Viper blinked. “Yeah, not really interested.” he answered stiffly. “Why doesn’t Swapy go with you?” Blue deflated. He slumped over and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“C’mon, Grandma,” he whined. “You and I both know that Paps would just spend the whole weekend sleeping. I promise that it’ll be fun.” Viper rolled his eyes again and picked up his reports again. He straightened them up and tried to go back to reading them.

“You and I must have very different definitions of the word ‘fun’.” he commented. Blue quieted down after that. It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes before a skull appeared in his line of vision. 

“Blue…” he said. “What are you doing?” The other monster looked up at him with sad cyan eyes.

“Viiiipeeerr” Blue whimpered. “How can I go without my bestie?” Well goddamnit. Why did he have to pull out the puppy eyes? He knew they were his fucking weakness. 

He sighed and once again set aside his work. He knew a losing battle when he saw it. “When is this supposedly life-changing trip happening?” Puppy eyes vanishing completely, Blue grinned.

“Next Friday. Paps is helping me get some new equipment for the video and safety and things,” he said. Blue was getting excited again, tiny stars lighting up his bright blue eyes

He stared at his friend with an unreadable expression on his face. “So, just so I have this straight,” he asked. “You want me to go camping in the woods all weekend. Just you and I alone in a creepy. haunted cabin ?”

Blue bit his lip, suddenly unsure. “Yes?” he asked with wide eyes. Viper cringed at the return of his puppy eyes. He groaned and covered his face. 

“Fine.” he said. “But if this blows up in your face, don’t come whining to me.”

The evening air was cool and getting colder by the minute as the two friends stood beside Swapy car, bags heavy with clothing and equipment and jackets zipped all the way up. The older monster had agreed to let his brother borrow the vehicle since he could just shortcut anywhere he needed to go. Blue leaned up against the bright orange hood, scrolling on his phone, more than likely updating his instagram. It was nearly 5 o’clock and the two were anxious to start their trip. 

Unfortunately, they were being stalled by both of their older brothers puttering around them, making sure that they had everything they needed for the weekend. Swapy had even splurged and gotten Blue a long distance radio beacon in case of an emergency.

“You sure you’re gonna be alright, Bro?” Swapy asked, double checking Blue’s pack. Blue rolled his eyes and looked up from his phone. He knew that his brother was worried, that didn’t make it any less irritating to deal with. 

“It’s three freaking days, Bro,” he snapped. “I’m sure that, Grandma and I can handle ourselves for that long.” Swapy frowned. He still didn’t look happy. Viper wasn’t fairing much better with his brother. 

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Pup whimpered. “What if something happens and you can’t reach us?” Viper placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. 

“Like Blue said, it’s only three days. Just make sure to feed Kiwi and Iris will be there if you get lonely.” Pup pouted but nodded anyway. 

“Can we go now?” Blue whined. “We’re already going to be driving like an hour and it’s getting dark.” Swapy huffed and drew his brother into a tight hug. 

“Alright, you shit,” he laughed. “let me know when you get to the motel okay? And try to keep us updated. I love you, Little Brother.” Blue hugged him back. 

“I love you too Paps,” he replied. “I love you too.” The Swapfell brothers embraced briefly as well. Pup gave him a tearful goodbye and pulled away. Blue and Viper hefted their bags to put them into the back of the car. They got into the vehicle and waved once more to their brothers.

Finally they were off. 

The first twenty minutes were spent with the friends jokingly ribbing one another about various things. Viper was immensely amused about the outfit that the ever stylish Blue had chosen to wear. “I thought we were going camping,” he chirped with a grin. “Not lumber-jacking. Or did I miss the memo?” 

Blue stuck his tongue out at him. “Laugh it up, Grandma,” he quipped. “You and your hipster teen ensemble aren’t much better. What made you think wearing ripped jeans to a cabin in the woods was a good idea?” Viper laughed and settled against his seat. 

“I wore an actual jacket didn’t I?.” he said in his defense. He laughed again when Blue poked him sharply in his side. 

“Whatever,” he huffed. “Thanks for coming with me.”

The drive seemed to take forever, as the scenery changed from cold asphalt of the town to gravel and tree lined roads. The sun was very nearly set, casting slight shadows across the road as they drove. As the temperature fell, Blue turned the heat on low so that they wouldn’t start getting cold. 

The cabin they were headed to was near the edge of the backwoods country an hour and a half outside the campus. The region was covered in expansive forests and nature trails. There were a few people, who kept vacations home around the area but for the most part, the only ones who went to the trails were campers and bikers who wanted to explore the maze-like trails and caves. 

“So where exactly are we going again?” Viper asked boredly. Blue shot him a look. “We have been driving for a while, Blue.” They had been driving for 45 minutes.

“Maybe we could grab dinner before we get to the hotel? Is there a diner or something nearby?”

“I like the way you think, Grandma.” Blue snickered. “I haven’t eaten since like noon and I’m freaking starving!” Viper glared at him. 

“You are utterly ridiculous. How did you forget to eat for that long?” he said. Blue blew a raspberry at his best friend. 

“And to answer your question,” he continued, ignoring Viper’s last comment. “We’re headed to the Black Rock region.” They drove in silence for a while longer when Viper decided to search up the cabin they’d be staying in. Blue tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he drove through the darkening scenery. Viper pulled his phone from where it sat in the cup holder. He winced as the car hit a bump in the road. 

“We’re almost to the hotel, I promise” Blue said sympathetically. 

“Thank god. I swear if you hit one more pothole, we’re going to find out if magical skeletons can barf” Viper shot back. He did his best to ignore the rattle of the car as he typed the region name into his web search engine. Most of the articles that came up were the standard weather and hunting game reports. There were a few mentions of people who had done out of the ordinary things such as catching a fish the size of a tire or some weird story about a deer or squirrel. 

His eyes widened when he caught sight of an article further down on the list. “Wow, I could have guessed that the area had a bit of history but this… is ...morbid.” he said, interrupting the silence. “How did you find this place again; www.Iwanttodieahorribledeath.com?” The car was silent for all of five second before Blue piped up irritably. 

“ It was on a list of cool local campsites,” he said. “What exactly are we dealing with here? Witches? Ghoulies? An army of people with Edge’s terrible fashion sense?” Viper bit his lip, a sudden uneasiness sinking in his stomach as he clicked on the related article at the bottom of the page.

“I have no idea actually?” he replied. “Most of the pages are about people going missing and winding up in strange locations when they’re found or worse, coming up in extremely disturbing positions, dead.” Silence reigned once again in the jeep. 

“Uh… disturbing how exactly?” Blue asked quietly. Viper scrolled through the article he was currently on. 

“Well, for starters, the whole region used to belong to this Native American tribe and of course the setters forced them off. The guy in charge of the resettlement was a real nasty asshole who basically treated the natives there like complete garbage.” 

“That’s pretty par for the course in Human History, Bud.” Blue commented. Viper cleared his throat to get him to stop talking. 

“Well, apparently in the 1700’s, there was a whole uprising led by the chief and they managed to kill or defeat a lot of the soldiers.” Despite the topic, Viper couldn’t help but find the story interesting.

“I sense a but coming...?” Blue asked, warily. Viper continued scrolling, summing up the rather long article. 

“Well, this chief was ultimately caught and the rebellion was put down. The captain ordered him to be banished into the surrounding forests where it was assumed that the elements would kill him, given that it was close to winter. Anyone who was caught helping him would face execution by hanging.” 

“Annd there it is,” muttered his friend. Viper hummed in agreement. 

“Yeah, and this is where the story gets really dark,” he said.

“Oh now it gets dark? And here I thought that the systematic oppression and genocide of a group of people sounded like so much fun. You know, since humans seem to like doing it so much.” Blue said sarcastically. The other skeleton shushed him and continued on. 

Viper stemmed the icy hold of anxiety down long enough to start again. “Uh, well, keep in mind that this is just a local legend but apparently the chief was also a practitioner of some pretty dark stuff and when he was banished, he cursed the land and all who dwelled on it. He said that the land would never again bare the descendants of any living person and that the land now belonged to the spirits that the soldiers had wronged. Any who dared to trespass would suffer a fate worse than death. The Captain wrote it off as the ramblings of a mad man and paid the warning no mind. 

That winter; when the rebel chieftain was supposed to have died; several children of his very own tribe, mysteriously disappeared. The Natives blamed it the chief’s curse and the continued occupation of the European captain and his men. There was another rebellion and this time, they succeeded. The captain was forced to flee and the Natives hoped that this would quell the curse, but the very next winter, even more children vanished. Ultimately the land was abandoned in the early 1800’s.”

“Right,” said Blue. “So, a mysterious curse that seems to prey on children. Fantastic. Good thing we’re responsible and capable adults. Anything else we should know about?” Viper’s brow furrowed. He wasn’t sure if he should tell his friend the next bit. The uneasy feeling was growing with every passing tree.

“It says that everything remained peaceful and the supposed curse was all but forgotten about until about 50 years ago the strange incidents picked again when the park first opened. The incidents began with the supposed drowning of nineteen year old Eliza Murphy. The teen was a champion college swimmer and had gone camping with her parents for the weekend. The morning of her disappearance, she’d gone to swim laps in one of the small lakes near their campsite. In front of like 11 eyewitnesses, the girl was pulled into the by some what some said was a ghostly hand. Her body has never been recovered.” 

“Well...that’s slightly more disturbing.” remarked Blue. The other hummed in response.

“From there, it looks like things just keep getting worse and the bulk of the incidents are centered around this particular stretch called the Warrior’s Respite. There’s a story where a mother and her three kids were vacationing in one of the cabins and were all found brutally slaughtered inside their beds. No one recalls seeing anyone other than the family entering or leaving the cabin the day or the night they were killed. An ex boyfriend was brought in for questioning but the case is still unsolved.

Most recently, a young boy named Robin Davis disappeared from the site he’d been camping at with his grandfather. The party that was sent to search for was never heard from again and there was still no sign of Robin. A second party was formed to look for the first one and the little boy. The boy wasn’t found, but they did find the first party. All 10 members that had included rangers, wilderness guides and even hunters were found at the end of the Warrior’s Respite near the entrance to the thickest part of the woods. All were ripped to shreds and all of their intestines and organs were suspiciously missing.”

“Oh god,” gagged Blue.

“The second party immediately radioed for the police and waited for them about a mile away from the disturbing site. By the time the authorities arrived and were shown to the crime scene, every single body had been removed as if they had never been there in the first place. It had only been 15 minutes from the time the police were radioed to the time they returned to the scene.”

Neither spoke as Viper finished the article. The only sound in the jeep was the music that grew steadily more creepy as the seconds passed and the gentle hum of the engine. Outside, the sky continued to darken as the sun sank lower below the horizon. The trees that lined the sad one lane country road were taller, older, tossing eerie shadows that seemed to stretch forever in the rapidly fading light. 

“It uh, doesn’t get much better from there,” Viper eventually said when the air in the jeep grew too thick for his liking. “There’s a few more related pages, if you want me to keep going.” The swap skeleton shrugged beside him. 

“Beats staring at the rocks on the road I guess,” he said. Viper chewed on his lip again and clicked on the next page. 

“Okay,” he started again. “It looks everything is quiet until like three years ago when four college students went into the woods beyond the Warrior’s Respite. They wanted to see if the rumors of the curse were true so they left on a Monday night in the middle of summer. No one heard from them until Wednesday the following week. One of the teens, 20 year old Shay McWilliams was seen stumbling into a rangers station over a 100 miles away with torn bloody clothes and cuts all down her arms and face. When they asked where she had come from and where the rest of her group was, she simply replied with a pale face and blank eyes, that the fakers had them. The rangers asked what she meant by that but the only thing she would say was that the fakers had stolen them and they were gone now. Shay was taken into protective custody to try and get more information out of her but she was deemed mentally and emotionally unstable and admitted to a psychiatric ward at a local hospital. And just like every other story. no trace of the other three has ever been found.” 

Viper found himself shivering in horror. “The police and rangers have since tried to question Shay twice about what happened to her and her friends during the week she was missing. The only thing she has said is that the man in blue saved her.”

“Jesus Fucking Christ Blue,” breathed Viper when he finished. “I thought we were supposed to be taking a break from the stress and craziness of work, not driving head first into Creepytown, USA. Why do people still go to this place?” Blue shrugged uneasily as he guided the vehicle around a sharp bend. By now the sun had completely set and it the only light around was the headlights and the soft glow from the moon and from Viper’s phone screen.

“I highly doubt there is some mysterious Native American spirit in the woods, kidnapping children, murdering and dismembering people and then hiding their corpses.” Blue said trying to reason around it.

“Yeah, but how did you not look at any of these stories before deciding on this stupid trip?” Viper asked shakily. “ What’s more, we’re less than two hours from this place and never heard a goddamn thing about any of this. And what about that girl who had a fucking meltdown? I don’t know Blue, I don’t trust this at all.” He sighed, turning off his phone, putting in his jacket pocket. Blue shrugged. It was a little unnerving how casual he was being about all of it.

  
  


“People go missing in the woods all the time, the news can’t possibly cover every single case. And most of these stories sound like they just took the history of Mount Ebott and embellished it to make it sound scary. I’m sure we’ll be fine.” 

Viper twisted and fidgeted in his seat. “That still doesn’t mean that it’s not fucked up,” he muttered, crossing his arms and glaring. “Maybe Paps was right about this. All in favor of ditching and going to see a movie instead?”

Blue scoffed. “I swear there’s nothing to worry about. What happened to the big tough Captain of the Guard I know?”

“Still wondering how he was duped into going on this nightmare trip.” he snapped.

“Besides, it’s way too late to back out now, We’re in the town right before Warrior’s Respite.” In fact, while the two had been busy bickering back and forth, Blue had steered them into the parking lot of a small hotel, lively and bustling with other travelers and truck drivers on the road with their loads.

As they were parked, Viper tried to calm his pounding heart. His best friend was right. There was nothing in those woods. Every place had its own urban legends and stories that they told to keep their kids behaving. He took a deep breath and went to open his door. He and Blue were going to have a weekend of senseless bonding and then they would return to the stress that was their lives on Monday.

Everything was going to be fine. He was sure of it.

Ch1/end


	2. Dial 1 for Murder

_ "I guess when you turn off the main road, you have to be prepared to see some funny houses." - Stephen King _

Chapter two

Blue fought the urge to squirm as the desk attendant checked over his ID for their room. It felt like every eye in the entire hotel lobby was on him, even though there was only like two other people milling around. He knew that out here he and Viper were in the minority with their pale alabaster bones and nearly iridescent blue eyes. IT was understandable why his brother was concerned about the trip. And why wouldn’t he be? With the state that his anxiety had been in the past month? He was as likely to suffer a panic attack as he was to get lost in these stupid woods.

Being with Viper somewhat eased his worries about the whole thing. The Swapfell monster would not normally be someone that he’d ever seen himself befriending but they had gotten close quicker than either of them had anticipated after sharing stories of their families and of their childhoods. And for that, Blue would be eternally grateful. Even finding out that Blue suffered from severe social anxiety hadn’t made them any less close. 

He and Viper fought just like they were brothers, and Pup reminded him so much of his own brother, that it was painful to talk to him sometimes.

In any case, he was glad for the other’s reassuring presence at his back. The attendant, a middle aged human woman, was typing into her computer and verifying that they’d pre booked their room for one night. Well, Paps had booked it for them. Really the whole trip was thanks to his older brother, who’d paid for most of their supplies and was determined that the two younger skeletons would be as safe as possible while they were away. The hotel he’d booked them at was small but it was in a decent part of town and even had a free breakfast in the morning. Hell, he had no idea how he was supposed to pay Paps back for the whole host of expensive camping equipment, including a fancy two way radio in case he and Viper somehow got separated along with radio beacon 

Finally, the desk attendant finished with his ID and handed it back with a tired smile. “Alright Dears,” she said kindly and took a plain white envelope from a drawer under the desk. “You’re all checked in, these are your keys. Your room is down the hall and to the right. Breakfast is from 6 am to 10 am and check out is at 9am. There’s no smoking inside the rooms itself but there are several designated spots outside.” Blue nodded back at her and took the cards from her.

“Thanks, we’ll be sure to remember that.” he said and gave her what he hoped was a charming smile. He felt so much out of his depth, thankfully the attendant appeared not to notice.

Viper’s PoV

“You boys from outta town then?” the woman behind the counter asked. Viper very nearly scowled. He knew that it wasn’t how she’d meant it, that she was just making conversation but wasn’t it obvious? He didn’t say this though. He didn’t want to come off as rude, nor did he want to tell her the real reason that they were out here.

“Yes ma’am,” he said politely. “We’re from Ebott about an hour south of here. Our brothers guilted us into taking a break and we read that there were some good places to camp around here.” 

'Macy' as her name tag read, paused when he mentioned camping, Viper noticed. “Oh is that so? Getting out here kinda late arencha?” she asked hesitantly. “Driving up that way can be kinda difficult after dark if ya don’t know the area well enough.”

Blue turned his charming grin towards her. “Yeah, I did some research before we came out here. We're gonna head out to the National park in the morning.” The woman nodded and seemed to want to say or ask something else, however she just gave a tiny shake of her head and turned back to her computer. 

“Well, you boys have a good night then. If you get hungry there’s a diner down the block that’s open 24 hours.” 

The two monsters thanked her and walked out of the lobby back into the night to grab their bags and head to their room. “Well..” muttered Blue. “that was weird.” He stretched his arms and unlocked his brother’s trunk. Viper pulled the backpacks with their clothes for the night, from the car and set Blue’s on the pavement.

“Well given what we just read about the place, I’m sure she’s just concerned.” he reasoned slinging his heavy pack over his shoulder. “I mean, wouldn’t you be if you knew that the woods by your town were known for some pretty gnarly stuff?” Blue rolled his eyes and nudged the other boy fondly. 

“Shut up,” he said, picking his own pack up by the top loop. He locked the car and shoved the keys into the side pocket of his bag. “and no says “gnarly” anymore weirdo.” Viper laughed and nudged him back. The two of them walked to their room, both feeling tired, despite the fact it was barely 7 o’clock. Viper fumbled with the key card for a second before the faded white door swung open to their temporary room.

Viper flicked on the light by the door. It was a fairly standard room, off white walls, and brown wooden molding. A door that presumably led to the bathroom was right next to the entrance. Heavy dark blue curtains covered the window directly in front of them. Underneath the window was a large air conditioner. Two queen sized beds, sat in the middle of the room, dressed in blue bedding that he was sure was going to be super uncomfortable to sleep on. Beside each of them was a plain looking table with drawers with a small lamp on each one. A television sat dark on top of a large dresser. Beside the dresser was a desk with a small card and a small pad of paper with a pen. The two skeletons walked into the room and set their bags down. Blue flopped onto the bed closest to the window and spread out to get comfortable. 

Viper took more care, sitting down carefully on the empty bed and sighed. “How much further is it to the Respite from here?” he asked. 

Blue turned his head to look at his friend. “We’re not actually too far right now. Maybe about another hour at most? But like the lady up front said, night here can get kinda dangerous, a lot of deer like to come out after the sun goes down and with all the trees, it can make it pretty difficult to see sometimes.” he answered absently. Viper nodded, trying not to think about the strange articles that he’d read.Blue was right, a lot of cultures and regions made up stories about spooks in order to teach their children about the dangers of the worlds or to explain some event that the science of the day could not. 

Viper watched his friend from the corner of his eye. He knew what that absentminded look meant. And he absolutely hated it. Blue was always dragging him along on his stupid Instagram adventures. The last time he’d seen a look like that, Blue had just read about some recent sightings of some monster called Big Foot and wanted to check the authenticity of the claims. He really didn’t understand the Swap skeleton fascination with the darker side of fairy and folk tales. He liked to know the story behind the story and although they’d never gone as far out as they were now, his friend had dragged them on multiple excursions to the small wooded area around the base of Mount Ebott in the pouring rain for six hours before calling it quits. Both of them had ended up missing nearly a full week of work due to coming down with the flu. Alphys had been furious when he’d found out. He could still hear his co-captain’s chiding voice. 

“Sans, you have to be careful,” she had said. “there are things in this world that not even we monsters can comprehend.” He’d scoffed then. 

Most of the stories Blue found were completely bogus. All that had ever come out of their little expeditions, were muddy clothes and stuffy noses. And he was sure this would be no different. At least, he hoped so. There was something so authentic that it actually made him more nervous when he thought about how the only way they had of contacting the outside world would be a tiny radio and a beacon. 

Blue must have noticed his silence. “You dreaming about pizza over there?” he joked. Viper stuck his tongue out at him. 

“No, I’m just thinking, that’s all.” he replied and turned to the door. “Are you totally sure that this place is safe?” Blue huffed. Viper glared at him. 

“Whether or not there’s some supernatural thing killing and torturing people out there, there have been a lot of accidents and it seems pretty far removed from society. Maybe we should pay attention to that?”

Blue rolled his eyes again clearly so completely done with the topic. He sat up on the bed. “I told you, nothing is going to happen. It’s a pretty quiet place so whenever someone stupid decides that they are stronger than nature, the internet hones in on it and makes it out to be way worse than it is.” he said. 

“And all the locals love to spook people from out of town. It’s just how it is in small towns. Nothing else much to do otherwise.” Logically, Viper knew that what Blue was saying was true. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was...off. Blue seemed almost… too casual about the whole thing. He decided no to think too hard about it. Maybe this was Blue’s way of dealing with it.

They sat in silence for a bit until Blue groaned and pulled himself up from the motel mattress. “Why don’t we go and grab some food from that diner? We can ask where we can grab groceries for Saturday night and Sunday morning?” He walked around to stand in front of Viper and slung his arms over his shoulders. “C’mon, Grandma, I’ll bet they have some awesome burgers here.” 

Viper didn’t look happy about the suggestion but he really was hungry. He allowed the swap skeleton to pull him up from his mattress and out their door. 

They got back into their car and pulled out of the parking lot. Viper leaned against the cold window and stared out at the small town as they drove. The small diner wasn’t too difficult to find as it was the only building besides the motel that seemed to have a lot of people parked in front. They found a place to park and stepped out into the freezing air. 

They were seated almost immediately by a friendly looking fox monster. They gave their drink order and sat in their booth to observe the diner and its patrons. Viper noticed that most of the people were older, many of them male. Maybe they were the truck drivers from the motel? There were a few families with children dotted around. The kids were screaming happily and munching on their fries while their parents discussed their weekend plans. Seeing so many people, lively and eating helped to ease his lingering fear from earlier. 

“Alright, I got two colas here. Are we ready to order yet?” the voice of their server startled him out of his thoughts. Shoot. He’d completely forgotten to look at the menu. Thank god for Blue. 

“We’ll have a double order the bacon cheeseburger,” his friend said, passing both of their menus over to the fox. “And maybe some extra ketchup for the fries?” The fox nodded and scribbled their order on his pad before running off toward the kitchen. 

Viper sighed and pinched the bridge of his nasal bone. “Hey, you okay?” Blue asked suddenly. Viper looked up at him.

“Uh yeah?” he replied hesitantly. “Just a little uneasy after reading those articles. Don’t worry about me.” 

“ I’m sorry,” Blue said . Viper looked over at his friend who was staring down at the beat up table with a guilty expression.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, pulling his hand away from his skull. “You haven’t done anything wrong?” Blue shrugged and didn’t look at him. 

“I just feel like I’ve been super pushy this entire time and now you’re freaking out.” he admitted. “If you’re really that uncomfortable, we don’t have to stay; we can go home in the morning.” 

Viper really hated how kind his best friend actually was. Most everyone thought that he was shallow and didn’t care about anything other than views. If only they could see this side of Blue. The soft unsure side that genuinely cared for others and only wanted to be the best monster that he could be. He gave his friend a small smile and reached out to grab his arm. 

“It’s okay Blue,” he said. “We’ve done everything possible to make sure that we’re safe. Yeah, those stories freaked me out but we’ve faced scarier things before and come out on top.” Blue grinned back at him, confident once again. Not long after, their waiter appeared with their burgers and an extra bottle of ketchup. He dropped the plates off and after checking if they needed anything else, walked off to check his other tables. 

The two joked and laughed with one another as they ate and flicked fries at one another. They even facetimed with Blue’s brother to let him know that they were both fine and had made it to their first destination safely. They soon forgot their worries as Swapy made them laugh and assured them that everything was fine back home and to have fun. He even transferred some extra funds to Blue’s card just for the fun of it. 

By the time that the two had paid and made their way back out to the car, Viper’s phone read eight forty-nine. The air had a definite bite to it now and he shivered. Blue sighed heavily, his breath visible in chill. They looked at each other over the top of the car and laughed loudly. 

Blue leaned his skull against the hood. “Ugh, people are exhausting,” he giggled. Viper couldn’t agree more.

Blue’s PoV 

He was hesitant to tell Viper about the other part of his plan. He was just so glad that his best friend was here with him in this desolate place. Although he’d been really glad that Viper had missed the really bad articles, if he had seen those, Blue was certain that the Swapfell monster would have put a stop to this adventure. 

Hopefully, the third member of their party would be waiting for them when they got back… 

He followed slowly behind Viper as he opened the door to their room. He was definitely feeling nervous now. There was no telling how his best friend would react if he was in there. Viper flicked on the light and froze. He stumbled forward when Blue ran into his back. 

“Welcome back!” came a lazy voice from Blue’s chosen bed. Blue peeked over Viper’s shoulder to see the figure who’d entered their room. He was another skeleton monster, but he was dressed very differently from the other two. He wore a thick tattered blue hoodie and a ratty white shirt. He wore long black track pants and worn pink slippers. His skull was severely cracked in places and he had an enormous hole above his left eye socket which was completely dark. His other eye glowed with red magic and he had a cheerful grin on his face. 

“Blue...” Viper asked lowly. Blue swallowed thickly. 

“Uh…. Yea...buddy?” he asked nervously. 

“What the fuck is AXE doing in our room?” 

Well at least he hadn’t hit him...yet…

ch/end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeerre's Axey!!! :3
> 
> Bit shorter than the last one but at least the set up is finally finished. :3


	3. Cabin Fever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as it turns out, I am most definitely NOT immune to the dreaded Bronchitis yet, which means that this story will probably not be completed until AFTER Halloween despite my best efforts. I'll try my best but with work and now this cough from the very depths of hell itself, it probably won't go well
> 
> But whatever, enjoy!!

_ "And both that morning equally lay; In leaves no step had trodden black.  _

_ Oh, I kept the first for a another day!  _

_ Yet knowing how way leads on to way; I doubted if I should ever come back."- Robert Frost; The Road Not Taken _

Chapter Three

“Blue,” Viper hissed, stepping into the room? “What the fuck is Axe doing in our room?” The horrortale skeleton was set cross legged the bed that Blue had claimed earlier. He knew that Axe’s joyful grin was meant to be friendly but Viper really just couldn’t help the cold shiver that traveled up his spine at the sight of it. It was probably one of the most intimidating things he’d ever seen in his life; slightly too wide at the edges and it definitely did not reach the terrifying monster’s one remaining eye-light. 

Blue didn’t answer him, which really spoke volumes to his guilt about knowing that the other skeleton was coming. Instead he pushed Viper aside and bounded into the room under the guise of surprise at seeing the other. Jesus, this guy really couldn’t lie to save his life could he? 

“AXE!” Blue called out excitedly and leapt onto the older skeleton, pulling him into a (excuse the pun) bone-crushing hug. “I can’t believe you actually made it!!” Axe, for his part, squeaked in shock at the gesture, clearly unused to such a welcome.

“H-hello?” he whispered. The bed squeaked as Blue adjusted himself to be able to look at his best friend and still keep a hold of his captive. He gave Viper a nervous smile.

“I uh ran into him a couple days ago and thought it’d be fun to invite him along?” He posed it like a question, yet Viper knew that it was anything but. He was giving him such an earnest look that Viper knew that he would accept any decision the other made. He sighed in irritation. Goddamn Blue’s bleeding heart.

“So, you pulled a ‘Red’ in other words,” he surmised, walking calmly over to his own bed and stripping off his jacket. “Well, it’s your damn circus, I’m just along for the ride.” He sat down and started unlacing his heavy hiking boots, and pulling out the clothing he wanted to sleep in that night.

“But in case you haven't noticed,” he commented casually, heading toward the bathroom to change. “There’s three of us now, and only two beds. And I’m pretty sure that we only brought two sleeping bags. I really wish that you’d think things through sometimes.” He heard Blue blow a raspberry at his back. 

“Okay, so we’ll share. Not like we haven’t done it before. That won’t upset your delicate sensibilities will it Grandma?” he ribbed. Viper snorted.

“Sharing with you is like cuddling a giant octopus,” he said returning to the main area and laying on the mattress so that he could see the others, even if they were upside down. “And that still doesn’t solve our sleeping bag problem tomorrow.” 

Blue grinned at him and shrugged, very clearly unbothered by their new predicament. Why was he acting so goddamn weird today? Axe had a faraway look in his eyes, but was otherwise comfortable, leaning up against Blue’s side. Looks like he’d already checked out for the night. And really, he couldn’t agree more, it was barely 10 o’clock but Viper was ready to just pass out himself. He yawned and closed his eyes.

“Swapy said that there was a chance for some flurries tomorrow; if we plan to beat it, we should probably leave early.” he murmured. The bed dipped beside him and something nudged him over a bit. He started slightly before realizing that it was just his best friend. Blue had also changed into his pajamas. It unnerved him how silent the swap skeleton could move when he wanted to. Guess he was serious about sharing then.

“If you strangle me in your sleep,” he muttered, scooting over to give Blue some room. “I will murder you.” Blue laughed and continued to maneuver himself to one side of the bed and pull the comforter over them. It took a few minutes but the two managed to arrange themselves comfortably underneath the cheap starchy sheets. Blue immediately curled around Viper, trying to leech heat from him. Dear god why were his feet so fucking cold?! How was that even possible, he was a skeleton for crying out loud!

“You two are really good friends,” Axe suddenly commented. Blue laughed and snuggled deeper under the covers.

  
  


“hell yeah we are!” he responded. His voice was muffled by his pillow so it sounded more like “hev yev vr” Viper snorted and got comfortable himself. 

“It’s more like he’s a damn tick that just won’t go away. I think I’ve adjusted well considering.” he grunted when Blue kicked his shin. 

“Shush now. Sleep.” he said drowsily.

~ ~ ~

It was shocking just how quickly the weather changed when the group finally piled into the car the following morning. The sky was filled with dark rolling clouds and the wind that was blowing was bitterly cold and cut through their bones like butter. Blue looked up at the sky with some apprehension, shivering in his puffy cyan coat. He wasn’t all that keen about spending the weekend in a supposedly haunted cabin in the thick of the back woods. Having to do it in the snow would make it all that much more terrible. 

Sure, this whole thing had been his idea in the first place, but he really hated being outside in the cold. But there was no turning back now, at least he wouldn’t be suffering alone. 

“Ugh, I thought you said that it wasn’t supposed to snow until later this afternoon?” Viper grumbled from beside him. The swapfell skeleton was dressed similarly to Blue except his coat was more like a pea coat rather than Blue’s comfy puffy one. He and Axe had spent the last ten minutes playing tetris with all of their gear, trying to fit it into the back of the car while still having room for Axe to sit comfortably. Blue shrugged and continued fiddling with the new camera his brother had gotten him just for this trip. 

“I don’t control the weather, Grandma,” he murmured, distracted with the many buttons on the device. Viper glanced at his friend. Blue was hiding something from him. He’d thought it last night but it was even more obvious when they’d gone to grab breakfast that morning and the other skeleton kept muttering to himself. Blue had only waved him off dismissively when he asked if there was anything wrong. No matter, he’d figure it out later. 

“Thanks for that Gandalf,” he rolled his eyes, “I’m driving this time, I’m not about to puke because you don’t know what the speed limit is.” Blue didn’t even try to look like he was listening to him. Viper shivered in the blistering cold. He was definitely getting in the car now.

“AHA!” Blue shouted triumphantly when the camera beeped and his grinning skull appeared in the viewfinder. 

“What’s up YouTube,” he introduced cheerfully. “It’s me, ya boi! I know I’ve been gone for a while and there’s a really good reason for that; which I will explain at the end of this video. I’ve got a brand new segment and I think you guys will be really excited about it...” 

Viper rolled his eyes and left him to it. He opened the driver’s side of the car and slid in, nearly moaning in delight at the heat. He caught a glimpse of Axe sprawled out over their camping packs and gear looking quite content to nap on the many zippers and pointy edges. Maybe Blue had invited him to scare off any other… unsavory… individuals they came across in the woods. If Axe didn’t kill them first.

  
  


“Alright!” Blue said, leaping into the passenger’s seat with starry eyes and rosy cheeks. Viper raised an eyebrow at the other’s excitement. He pushed the car from “park” into “reverse” and backed out of the hotel parking lot. 

They started off toward the cabin; Blue occasionally talking into his camera. Viper couldn’t stop the fond glow in his soul as he listened to his friend recount the stories they’d read the previous night, even inserting a comment or two himself. He couldn’t deny that he’d missed seeing Blue like this; in front of a camera and entertaining the world. He knew that he often complained about his friends' hobbies but Blue really had been made for it. He was upbeat and engaging in his storytelling and completely charming his followers and subscribers with his somewhat loud and quirky personality.

The site they were headed to was supposedly only 40 minutes away from town, but this town was already fairly isolated. People occupied spaces thinned as they traveled deeper towards their destination. Where once an occasional house or farm stood, now clusters of oak and maple trees combined with untended undergrowth grew intertwined through shambling remains. 

As they pulled up to the ranger’s station, it occurred to Viper that this would be Blue’s first major video project since the cafe incident last month. Sure, he’d made small updates like his ridiculous photo with that damn bird (Kiki was a jealous shit and pecked at anyone who dared get close to Blue- including Swapy) and his autumn photo shoot, but this was the biggest thing he’d done since that fateful day.

The ranger’s station was a plain looking wood and brick building. Dying trees with brown leaves swayed in the wind around the aged building. Fallen leaves crunched beneath the tires as Viper guided the car to a stop and parked in front of the door.

Everyone who visited the Respite was required to sign a waiver form and a date log book stating when they were to return from the site. Viper sighed and shut down the engine. Blue was still going on about the morbid history of the region when they stopped. 

“Okay, so we’re gonna head inside the station now. This is the last bit of civilization we’re gonna see until Sunday.” Blue shut down the camera and turned to Viper, nearly vibrating with his level of excitement. 

“I actually can’t believe we’re here!” he shrieked. Viper winced at the volume. He really couldn’t believe it either. He glared when a lone snowflake landed gracefully on the windshield. 

“Yeah, hooray,” he muttered. “Well, let’s get this nightmare over with.” he unbuckled his seat and stretched out his neck. 

“I’m already exhausted and we haven’t even made it there yet.” Blue agreed happily and bounded out after Axe who’d teleported out of his place in the car.

Their adventure was finally beginning.

Chapter 3/end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um excuse me? But where is the rest of this chapter Liz!? Perhaps you should follow this here link to find out >>>> history-fanatic-4-ever.tumblr.com


	4. Smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, I’m still alive. Wedding season is finally over and done with and I managed to get through a week without getting sick so hooray for me!! If you haven’t already, please be sure to check out my tumblr here: https://history-fanatic-4-ever.tumblr.com/ to see the two page comic that starts this chapter off officially or this probably won’t make a whole lot of sense. Also check out this incredible comic based on the end of chapter 2 by Imjustalazycat https://imjustalazycat.tumblr.com/post/188793011789/fanart-for-history-fanatic-4-ever-a-little-part who is one of the creators of this AU!)

Chapter Four

Chara didn’t know how long she sat with Papyrus. She felt her heart rip into pieces when the lanky skeleton started to sniff wetly. Papyrus almost never showed his emotions, preferring instead to hide behind a smirk or a stupid joke. Hell, even Classic was more expressive than her dear friend. For Papyrus to breakdown like this, she knew that the stress he was under had to be immense. 

“You should go to class,” Pap whispered hoarsely, clutching onto her hand like a lifeline. “You’ve missed too many days already,” Chara yawned, wincing at the sun starting to peek through the living room curtains. She squeezed her friend tighter. 

“I’m not leaving you Pap,” she replied. “You need me here more than some college professor.” She didn’t know if it was her tone or if it was the words themselves but the final lock that had been keeping the damn up, broke and he began to weep in earnest. Chara held him as he cried, whispering what she hoped were words of comfort. 

“Shh, shh, Papy, she said. “It’s okay, I get it. Just let it all out.” By the time the swap skeleton had cried himself out, Mettaton’s new program had been replaced with their own Nabstabot’s concert special. The Blue robot had decided to host an impromptu charity event to raise money for the search aid in the backcountry. There was even supposed to be a special guest appearance by the Ambassador of Monsters Frisk Dreemurr. That got the human’s attention. Frisk? 

The original Human had left some time ago after they’d all graduated from high school. They’d all decided that since Frisk had come from the prime universe, then she should take on the responsibilities as the monster ambassador. At least that was Chara’s argument anyway. They didn’t need four inexperienced children running around the consulate. Frisk wasn’t happy about it but nevertheless agreed once little Fell said that she would be happy to do it. (Fell wasn’t actually younger than them, she was just somehow smaller). Not to mention that it would be a cold day in hell before Boss would ever allow his little human anywhere near politics. 

As a result, the group very rarely got to interact with her since she spent most of her time in the capital with her kingly adopted father. To say that she missed the other human was a bit of an understatement. She had Frisk had gotten close during the “timeline incident” and there were times that it felt like Frisk was really the only person who understood what they went through during their time Underground. 

No sooner had she thought about her best friend then Chara felt her phone buzz from her pajama pants pocket. The human shifted just enough to pull the device out. Papyrus sniffed wetly and glanced at her before turning back to the TV in exhaustion. Keeping a hand on the skeleton, Chara unlocked her phone to see the lone message from none other than the Monster Ambassador herself. Hesitantly, she clicked on the message. 

“Noon. Coming over.” it read. “We need to talk.”

~ ~ ~

Saturday: 10 am Viper’s PoV

Viper couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. Sure, he could have written it off as Axe being his usual creepy self, but with how weird every one of the locals were being, he couldn’t help but think that there was something else going on. He kept an eye on the woods surrounding their temporary shelter for the night. The wind had picked up, blowing the falling snowflakes around in flurries, making it difficult to see.

Out in the trees, he thought he could see shapes and shadows moving around in the distance. He shivered. Shadows were normal in the forest. With all the trees and nooks and crannies that they created. There could have been any number of small animals scurrying around looking for someplace safe to wait out the storm. One shadow in particular was even more unnerving though. At first glance, it looked like a small sapling tree, surrounded by giants, but if he squinted at it, he could tell that it was definitely not moving the way a tree should be. It moved more like a person, with elongated limbs, like it didn’t quite know what to do with arms or legs. Viper stared at it. Hoping and praying that it was just a trick of the light, the skeleton backed away toward the door. The shadow didn’t move. 

“Oh there you are Grandma,” Blue said, once his friend walked through the door. “What took you so long?” Blue’s voice sounded frustrated and it really wasn’t hard to see why. Axe had apparently teleported directly into the cabin while they were still parking and was now sitting cross legged on a ratty, dusty sofa. 

“Dude,” he said sternly. “You’ve got to stop with the disappearing act. We all need to stick together out here.” Blue sighed irritably and dropped his backpack onto the dirty wooden floor. 

“Seriously. Haven’t you ever heard of the buddy system?” 

Axe seemed to think their worry unwarranted since his only response was to raise one of his cracked brow bones at his younger counterparts. Viper seriously had no idea what went on inside that warped skull of his. 

“I was only scouting out the place,” the freaky skeleton finally said with a shrug. “I wouldn’t want you to accidentally walk in on a mass murderer chopping up his victims or anything.” 

‘Right, because that doesn’t make you sound like a psycho,’ Viper thought to himself.

“As helpful as that is,” Blue said with a strained smile. “We could also use some help unloading the rest of the gear too.” He sounded like he was starting to regret inviting Axe. Well maybe this would teach him to think about things before he jumped head first into them (but probably not).Axe nodded happily at the request and popped out of the room, presumably returning to the car.

Blue sighed and bent down to start unpacking the bag he’d brought in. He pulled out several different pieces of equipment that looked like they’d be more at home in a spaceship than in a creaky old cabin. Blue seemed to know what he was doing as he looked over each piece and set it aside with a nod. Viper left him to it and took in the rest of the room.

In a word? It was disgusting. Besides the ratty couch in the center of the room, there didn’t seem to be much else in the way of furniture. The fireplace looked like it had seen much better days and really didn’t seem safe. Maybe they could get Axe to look at it, it would be useful to be able to light a fire later that night if the snow continued falling the way it was.

There was a small kitchenette off to the side of the living room that held only moldy counters and cabinets. Like hell would Viper be putting any of their food in that room. He assumed the bedrooms were in the back of the cabin and really wasn’t keen to check those out any time soon. He’d asked Blue later what the sleeping arrangements were going to be. 

He shivered when a breeze from the broken window blew a few stray snowflakes into the room. He made his way toward the window to look out. 

“The ranger said that we were the only ones out here this weekend, right?” he asked looking out toward the forest. The shadow he’d seen earlier was gone, making him frown in concern. 

Blue grunted from the floor. “Uh yeah?” he said. “Why see some sexy wood nymph out there or something?” Viper wrinkled his nose. Why did his friend’s mind always go straight to the gutter?

“Why would you think something like that?” he asked. “And no, I just thought I saw a shadow staring at us from behind one of the trees.” Blue looked up at him, startled. He snorted and went back to checking over his video equipment. 

“C’mon Grandma,” he laughed. “I thought we talked about this? Why are you still freaking out like a wittle baby?” Viper shot a glare over his shoulder.

“Fuck you,” he spat. “I don’t understand how you’re not worried. People literally go missing and or are killed out here and all you care about is your stupid Instagram. Sorry if I’m the only one who actually cares about our safety.” He cringed at the hurt that flashed through his best friend’s eyes. Fuck. Open mouth, insert foot. Blue looked away from him and set down the camera he was holding. And there was the deflation that he’d been so happy was gone earlier. Fucking perfect. 

He searched for some way to salvage the conversation. Before he could come up with anything, Axe blipped back into the room with the rest of their luggage wrapped in his magic and for some reason covered… in...ash? 

“We can light a fire now I cleaned the chimney out,” he chirped proudly.

Blue smiled brightly at their companion, back hiding behind that stupid fucking happy mask of his.

“Thanks Buddy,” he said. “Wow, you managed to get the rest of it too? You’re so freaking cool Axe.” The older skeleton tilted his head and looked at him. Ugh, that tone was so fake, even the most oblivious monster in the room could see through it. 

“There’s still some cell service by the car,” he said quietly. “You should call your brother and let him know that we’ve made it in one piece.” Blue hesitated and nodded, standing up silently and walking past Viper out the door. He tried not to let it sting too badly when his friend refused to even acknowledge him on his way out, phone appearing in his gloved hands as if by magic. 

“You won’t get warm by standing in front of a broken window,” came Axe’s voice directly behind him. Viper jumped nearly a foot in the air at the other skeleton’s sudden appearance.

“What the actual fuck is wrong with you?!” he shrieked, clutching at his rib cage and breathing hard. Axe didn’t respond to Viper’s exclamation, he simply turned around and walked back toward the large pile of luggage. 

“I am going to set up the tent,” he said. “You should sleep while you are able. Who knows how long Blue will want to film for, there is a lot to cover. We should be prepared for just about anything out here right?”

Viper blinked. That was probably the most he’d ever heard the older skeleton speak at one time. 

“But, it’s still daylight,” he resisted the urge to pout like a child being told it’s time for bed. He also didn’t want the other to know how uncomfortable he was sleeping in such an unsettling area. Not to mention that Blue was probably really upset with him and he didn’t want a repeat of the last time they had fought. He was surprised yet again, when he saw Axe’s remaining eye light soften. 

“I’ll keep an eye socket out,” he offered softly. “And keep an on Blue as well. You’ll both be safe in this cabin. I promise.” The younger monster shifted uneasily. Ugh, this guy was so freaking weird. Then again, he had offered to keep an eye on his best friend so…” 

“Fine but you only if you actually keep watch.” he conceded and walked over to help Axe set up their tent. 

~ ~ ~

Tuesday 12:02 pm Chara’s PoV

Chara waited anxiously in the living room. She didn’t know what she was more stressed about, the fact that Blue was missing out in the middle of god knows where and she could do nothing to help him, or the fact that she was going to see her best friend after three years apart because of it. 

...yeah...it was definitely the first one… 

Chara had changed into a simple pair of blue jeans and a long black sweater. She hadn’t even bothered to brush her hair. What was Frisk going to do? Judge her?

She nearly shrieked when the doorbell rang. Jumping up quickly, she ran to the door. She’d finally convinced Swapy to go upstairs and sleep, which was seriously something that she never thought she’d do. Her heart ached for him and Pup and she was hoping that Frisk would know what to do. 

The young human flung the door open and blinked at the person standing on the porch. 

It was another woman dressed in a very familiar outfit of long black sports pants with a white stripe going up the side and an extremely oversized blue hoodie jacket. She looked completely exhausted with dark circles under her honey brown eyes and her shoulder length dark hair was unkempt and slightly curly. 

“Frisk?” she breathed. The young ambassador took a hand out of her pocket and gave Chara a small wave. 

“Heya Pal,” she greeted tiredly. “Don’t you know how to greet an old friend? The familiar phrase shook Chara out her stupor. 

“Oh my god!” she squealed and tackled Frisk, nearly knocking them both to the snow-covered concrete outside.

“You look like absolute trash,” she laughed as the original human quickly steadied them. “I’m so happy to see you.” The two girls hugged a while longer before breaking apart. 

“Well, come in here you bumhead,” Chara said wiping her eyes and holding the door open for her friend to go in. Frisk walked into the warm living room and sighed. 

“This brings back memories,” she commented softly, looking around the tidy room. “Although the last time I was invited into a skeleton’s house, it was by a tall handsome fellow in a red scarf.” The dark haired human stretched and popped her back.

Chara laughed and returned to her vacated spot on the sofa. She curled up and gestured for Frisk to join her.

“Speaking of Papyrus,” Frisk asked hesitantly, sinking down next to her. “Where’s yours at? I thought he’d be pacing a hole in the floor from all that nervous energy. Or does yours not do that?” Chara groaned and slammed her head back against the sofa cushion. Frisk looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Chara grumbled, crossing her arms. “but I sent him to bed and I really hope that he stays there. I’m pretty sure he’s been awake since Monday, and the rangers won’t let us rejoin the search until he gets some sleep.” Frisk hummed in response and drew her legs up to rest her arms on her knees. 

“Must be worse than Undyne said. Well then I’ll just have to wait to fully explain what I think might be going on.” she whispered. Chara glanced at her expectantly. Frisk sighed and refused to look at her friend. 

“I think Blue and Viper might be being hunted by a monster right now...”

~ ~ ~

Saturday 4:19 pm Viper’s PoV

It was the smell that hit him first. Sure, there was the usual smell of dust and decay that tended to come with abandoned buildings, but this smell was slightly… off. It was there lying under the scent of rotten floorboards and moldy cabinets. This was- Viper’s stomach flipped, bile rising up in his throat. He gagged and covered his nose with the sleeve of his jacket, hoping to not only block out the smell, but also the memories that it brought with it from his time as Captain of the Royal Guard. Never-the-less, he continued on into the house. Thank god they’d brought tents and sleeping bags because there was no way in hell he was going to spend the night in this place.

The actual inside of the cabin was dimly lit from sunlight coming in from the dirty and cracked windows. They were standing in what looked like an entrance foyer or mudroom so he couldn’t see the full extent of the damage that nature had wrought on the house. There wasn’t a single sound as Viper led the way into the house proper. 

“Blue, this is disgusting,” he growled, his voice muffled by his sleeve. His friend made a similar noise behind him. He thought he heard the swap skeleton gag, but he paid no mind and shuffled into the room, despite the watering in his own eyes. 

Oh god, the smell was even worse in here. Viper tried to tell himself that it was just the normal rot and decay, more condensed because the cabin had been sitting unused for so long, but really there was no mistaking it.

It was the smell of death. 

Blood mixed in with the decay and dust, things that any person; either monster or human; could pinpoint without ever experiencing it. It was rancid and Viper really wasn’t sure how much more of it he could handle. He was damn sure that Blue wasn’t going to be able to for much longer. But he convinced himself to go on, that he could take whatever was coming. Surely some kind of small game animal had simply found its way into the empty building and gotten trapped somewhere inside. That’s what it had to be. 

The second that Viper emerged into the main area, he felt every ounce of gusto he’d built up, fleeing his body. 

It was not an animal. His soul was beating so hard that his rib cage hurt. Oh, it was so much worse than what he’d been imagining. He barely even heard Blue’s gasp of absolute horror, so entranced was he by the gruesome scene displayed in front of him. 

“Viper…?” The swapfell skeleton blinked at Blue’s whisper, his friend’s voice falling flat against the dark stains on the wooden flooring

Dark brown, the blood was too thick and dried to remain its usual rusty red. Yet on top of the dried blood was sticky and wet… fresher blood. It stuck to the bottom of his boots and left smeared footprints on the floor as Viper and Blue wandered further into the horror show. 

“Oh, my god. Oh my god,” Blue voiced exactly what Viper was feeling. Viper, their face. Look at their faces. Oh my fucking god. What the hell happened here?!” Blue sounded damn near hysterical now and really Viper couldn’t blame him one fucking bit. 

There were maybe ten of them, but it was hard to tell with some of them. Viper shuddered, but forced himself to keep looking. To memorize the carnage around him. He’d seen some pretty gruesome deaths during his childhood and serving in the Royal Guard, but all of those of course had been monster deaths and their corpse hadn’t lasted very long after they died. 

All these people had been human and it was his first time seeing bodies so...fleshy and… gooey. It was the most horrifying sight he’d ever seen. 

Spread throughout the room were the bodies of ten humans. They were all draped over various pieces of furniture in awkward positions, arm and legs in ways that Viper was positive that they weren’t supposed to be. Their necks were bent at right angles and their faces… god, those expressions were going to haunt his nightmares for eternity. He didn’t want to stare at their mangled corpses any longer but he needed to make sense of it. 

By the window, packed into a crack no bigger than their arm was a large man. He looked familiar, like Viper had seen the man somewhere very recently. He looked like he’d died trying to shove himself through the barely open window, oblivious to the blood and bits of flesh scraped from his body as he forced himself through the small space. The nausea was threatening to overwhelm both of the boys. What… what was this? 

Crushed flesh and bone, puddles of blood seeped into the floorboards like juice squeezed from a ripe piece of fruit. Blue was behind, shaking so hard that it was a wonder that his legs didn’t give out underneath him. A hand clutching at his back knocked him from his trance. He glanced over his shoulder and locked eyes with his best friend. He had a hand over his mouth in horror as he drank in the gory sight.

“Where- where did they all come from?” Blue gasped out, breathing heavily. “No one is supposed to be out this far besides us. Oh god, who did this?” 

It was time to leave. Blue was on the verge of a massive panic attack and he just couldn’t stand to stay in this place any longer. They were finding Axe and going straight to the police and then going home. Viper took hold of Blue’s trembling hand in his own and tried to lead the frightened skeleton out of the house. He barely trusted his own ears when he heard a lilting voice call out. He looked sharply at his friend, thinking that it was him. That had definitely been Blue’s voice. From the terrified look in the swap skeleton’s eyes, Viper could tell that he hadn’t been the one to call out. 

Blue’s eyes were the widest that he’d ever seen them. Filled with frightened tears, he pointed toward the center of the room. Viper raised an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder apprehensively. 

At first, it looked like just an ordinary show, so he was unsure what Blue was trying to show him. Then the shadow started moving and blinked its glowing white eyes at him. 

...wait...what…? 

The shape molded and swirled until a twisted, gnarled grin formed on it’s gloopy and oily face. Viper own face contorted into a disgusted grimace. Blue choked out a gasp and tried to hide behind his best friend. 

“Viper?” 

so quiet, it almost slipped by him. But just like the smallest magical attack could still injure, the word slammed into them like a freight train. Because it wasn’t just any word. No. It had said his name. Viper’s name had come from it’s mouth in Blue’s voice no less. 

“Viper… don’t… leave...me?” 

Oh. Fuck. No.

Without thinking, he grabbed onto Blue’s arm and pulled. Neither of the skeleton monsters looked behind them, running and stumbling through the dense and foggy woods until they reached the car and slammed the doors closed. The...whatever… that thing continued to screech Viper’s name at their backs. 

Ch/end


	5. Human Monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gave me so many issues, you have no idea!

“ _ Wolves asleep amidst the trees; Bats all a swaying in the breeze; But one soul lies anxious wide awake; Fearing all manner of ghouls, hags and wraiths.” - Lullaby of Woe, Ashley Serena _

Chapter Five

Saturday 12:02 pm Viper’s PoV

He was shaking when he opened his eyes. Gulping down trembling breath after trembling breath, he sat up from the cocoon he built out of blankets. The dark fabric of the tent surrounded him. He cradled his skull in shaking hands and tried to calm his racing soul. What in the actual hell was that?

All of those mutilated and mangled bodies… that shadow thing… Viper shuddered at the memory of that garbled voice screeching his name.

“Are you awake?” Viper yelped at Axe’s voice.

“Why do you keep doing that?!” he sheethed. At this rate, he was going to have a heart attack before the weekend was over.

Axe’s cracked and warped skull tilted and didn’t reply… again. The two skeletons stared at each other for a full minute before Viper sighed in irritation and groaned into his hands.

“Whatever,” he hissed. “Where’s Blue at? I’d thought for sure he would be nagging at us to start his dumb video.” He was surprised that the other hadn’t woken him up sooner. Axe gave him what he assumed was a concerned glare.

“Where is he?” he demanded, trying; without success, to stand up in the small area. He shivered, claustrophobia suddenly pushing in on him. He needed to get out of this tent. He shoved roughly the older monster and out of the fabric entrance. He winced at the brightness of the living room that streamed through the shattered windows. Ugh, how long had he been asleep anyway?

“He’s still outside on the porch.” Axe said behind him. Viper squinted through the window that was right next to the front door. How had he missed a whole damn porch? He could just make out a blue lump hunched over and sitting on the steps.

The swapfell skeleton faltered on his way to the door. What if Blue didn’t even want to talk to him? After what he’d said earlier? Viper shook his head. They were going to have to talk about it eventually, especially since they were pretty much stuck out here until the snow let up. And knowing his best friend, Viper would have to be the one to make the first move. He steeled his nerves, grabbed his jacket and wrenched open the creaky door.

Blue didn’t even look up at the sound of the door opening and closing . He was huddled underneath a fluffy blue comforter with his headphones on. Viper caught the melancholic melody of “Dying in L.A.” by Panic at the Disco, playing softly through them. He winced as the lyrics of the song reached him. Fuck, Blue really was in a mood wasn’t he? Viper swallowed. He hated when Blue got this down; he had no idea how to handle him when he got this way. And this time, he was pretty sure that he was the cause of it.

He thought for a moment about what he could possibly do. The bitter wind whistling around the two of them, he bit his lip as he came up with something. Sure, it wasn’t a  _ great _ idea but it was the first thing he’d come up with. Soul pounding, he hesitantly approached his friend from behind. When he was less than a foot away, he reached out and embraced Blue in a tight hug.

He choked down a snicker when the skeleton in his arms jumped violently. Maybe Axe was on to something with his sudden appearances. He felt Blue reach up and remove his earphones.

“V-viper?” he stammered. “What the hell are you doing out here? You nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought you were sleeping inside.” Viper huffed. Blue’s voice was soft and raspy. Had he really been sitting all alone out here crying? He squeezed tighter.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have called your video stupid. I know how much your YouTube projects mean to you.” Blue started trembling in his grasp.

“Shh,” Viper whispered soothingly. “I’m sorry, Blue.” his friend clutched at the arms folded around his rib cage. They stayed like that watching the snow drift from the grey sky and bury the ground and their surroundings with a thick blanket of white fluff. Blue continued to sniffle softly all the while. God Viper felt so guilty.

“Tell me what’s going on inside that head of yours Blue,” he asked in earnest. “Why is this one video so important when you have so many other options available?” Blue let out a small sob and held onto his best friend like he was a lifeline in a storm torn sea.

“I just want to feel okay again,” he finally choked out. “For months now, I’ve felt like a piece of my soul has gone missing. And I can’t even go a day without pissing someone off or making a fool out of myself.” Viper let him talk. Blue had probably been sitting on this for a while now.

“I just don’t want to be a burden for you guys anymore” Blue continued. “And I thought that if I made my channel into something...more than just me prancing around, then maybe I’d feel like less of a fucking failure.”

Well fuck. How long had Blue been feeling this way? Viper knew he’d been having a rough couple of months but he hadn’t realized his friend had been so affected by it.

“Dammit, Blue,” he growled. “Why didn’t you just tell me? I hate the thought of you dealing with these emotions alone. You know damn well that not a single one of us thinks that about you. You’re our friend. You’re my  _ best  _ friend.” Blue sniffed.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, settling against his friend. Viper was always so shocked at how comfortable with his friends Blue could be. They were sitting on the worn and rotting porch of a lonely abandoned cabin in the middle of bum fuck nowhere during a snowstorm, practically cuddling and the swap skeleton wasn’t batting an eyelight. “I’m such an idiot, I just don’t want to disappoint you again.”

“You’re not an idiot,” Viper replied. He let go of Blue and slid down to sit next to him instead. “I mean you’re not perfect, no one is. And you do some pretty dumb things, don’t get me wrong. And sometimes they come back to bite you. That doesn’t mean you’re stupid. 

Everyone has bad spells and yeah, the last few months have been difficult; but you’ve got so many people out there supporting you.We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us though. You shouldn’t feel like you have to bottle these emotions up. Besides I don’t think it’s physically possible for you to disappoint your brother.”

Blue nudged him. “Okay, okay, stop,” he laughed wetly. “You sound like Pap, it’s weirding me out.” Viper couldn’t picture the ever joking Swapy saying anything like that but it’d made his friend smile so he played along.

“Don’t compare me to that asshole.” he growled playfully, nudging Blue back. Blue laughed lightly. They quieted down and just watched the swirling storm around them, content in each others company.

~ ~ ~

Tuesday 12:25 pm Chara’s PoV

  
  


Chara blinked, still trying to process what she’d just heard. The words just weren’t computing.

“I… don’t understand.” she said. “What makes you say that? Why would a monster do something like that? Frisk hummed a response as she tapped out a message on her phone.

“I know what you’re thinking. I didn’t say that they were from the Underground,” she pointed out matter-of-factly. That confused Chara even more. She leaned back against the couch cushions and groaned.

“What does that even mean,” she complained. “Why are you always so freaking cryptic?” Frisk laughed and swept her dark hair out of her eyes. Chara sent her a dirty look.

“I’m sorry,” Frisk apologized. “I forget how weird I get when I’m tired. We’ve been going non stop up at the embassy since everything happened. I’m actually surprised that I was able to sneak away.” 

“And how did you manage that? I would have thought that the all important Ambassador and Princess of Monsterkind would have an entourage of guards tracking her every move. Yet, here you sit, completely alone, all dolled up in your boyfriend’s clothes.” Frisk raised her eyebrow at her friend.

“Okay, one,” she said, holding up a single finger. “Imply that Sans the Skeleton is my boyfriend one more time and I might be tempted to end your existence. And two, the Italian Ambassador’s aid helped me sneak out. She’s really sweet and as it turns out is a huge fan of Starboy123 She practically begged me to solve his disappearance.” The dark haired human couldn’t stop the bark of laughter at the look of incredulous disbelief on her friend’s face.

“It’s a strange life,” she chuckled. Chara shook her head.

“That’s the understatement of the century,” she grumbled. “You gonna elaborate on what you said before?” Frisk opened her mouth to reply when the girls heard a shuffling from the stairs. They turned to see Papyrus leaning over the guardrail with a lazy grin on his face. His clothes were rumpled with sleep and the bone around his dim eyelights was slightly reddened as if the man had been crying- which in all fairness, he probably had been, his baby brother was missing after all.

“Pap?” Chara gasped. How long had the skeleton been standing there watching them? “ I can’t believe I’m saying this but you’re supposed to be sleeping you ridiculous skeleton!” Papyrus raised one of his delicate browbones

“Oh, don’t let me interrupt,” he quipped. “If I’d known we’d have such an important guest, I would have _ swapped _ out my good jacket.”

The girls snorted at the poor attempt at humor from the stressed out monster. Frisk gave Chara a look and answered with one of her own. “Don’t change on my account, Papyrus, I prefer the  _ classics _ .” it got a small laugh out of the older man. Chara rolled her eyes at the two of them. Well, if nothing else, then at least Frisk could help keep Paps grounded until they found Sans.

“If you’re going to keep running your mouth, then just get down here and sit.” Chara yelled up to her friend before the pun fest could continue. “Frisk was just about to explain what she thinks happened to Sans and Viper.” The sentence was barely out of her mouth before there was a loud ‘pop’ beside them. The elder skeleton had teleported directly in between the girls and stretched out.

“Well don’t keep us in suspense, Princess,” Papyrus’ voice sounded calm but Chara could detect an underlying hint of desperation in it. She really hoped that Frisk could help. Without Sans, Paps seemed much more lethargic and apathetic about life. It seemed like without the younger monster around, there really was no guiding light in Paps’ life.

Frisk gave the lanky man a sympathetic stare. “Well, keep in mind that this is just a working theory and all I’ve really got to go on are legends and a handful of other missing persons reports.” The other two were silent as she started her explanation.

“Have you heard about the Missing 411 phenomena that’s been recently documented?” Chara vaguely recalled Sans talking about something similar before he went off on his trip. Papyrus however had no idea.

“Well it’s a theory by an ex-police officer that helps explain the mysterious disappearances of thousands of people. These people tend to go missing in broad daylight, mostly in national parks and nature reserves all over the world. What makes these cases so unique is that these people end up missing while they are surrounded by other patrons of the parks, yet there are often times no traces of where they might have gone or even what happened to them.”

“Well, that definitely sounds like Sans,” Chara said carefully. “But how does that help us? Aren’t most 411 cases unsolved?” Papyrus was absolutely silent, eyeslights completely dark.

Frisk sighed. “ I’m getting to that. Yes, most do remain unsolved but those that are, the victims are usually found in places that they have no business being, or end up miles away from where they went missing, confused and unsure of how they ended up there.” She gripped onto Papyrus’ jacket, hoping to shake him out of his shock.

“But I swear that’s not why I brought it up.” she hurriedly continued. “Some theorists hypothesize that these disappearances are connected in some way to ancient legends from the humans that lived there. A lot of people write these legends off as just that, but as we remember, the stories about Mt Ebott were all rumored to be legends as well.”

“Yeah, and we all saw how that worked out,” Chara muttered. Frisk grunted an affirmation.

“Exactly. Which brings me to my main point-”

“You think my brother is being hunted by another monster. One not from the Underground.” Papyrus interrupted in a choked whisper. Frisk nodded and started rubbing soothing circles on his arm.

“Yes,” she said softly. “The legends that surround these stretches of land are ripe with what I’ve been calling Human Monsters or monsters that originate from the vices of humanity. Creatures like the Yee Naaldlooshii or the Skin-walker from Navajo folklore or even the Wendigo. They are known to walk the forests and lands around this area. These creatures are created from a desire of either revenge or extreme hunger. Both are able to mimic their prey in a variety of ways, such as speech, or appearance. Some stories even say that they can infiltrate dreams as well. However, there isn’t much known about them beyond that; the First Peoples’ are incredibly hush hush about them.”

What we do know however, is that the Skin-walker is generally created through dark magic by a human witch, and a Wendigo is summoned when a person is on the verge of starvation.”

Chara blinked at her friend and pursed her lips. “So…. What you’re saying is that Sans and Viper may have wandered into the den of an evil witch who can shape-shift into anything they want and has a carnivorous pet with a taste for sentient beings?” she tried to sum up. Frisk shrugged.

“Pretty much. I did some research about the Black Rock region and you know what I found?” Chara snorted, knowing exactly what her friend was about to say.

“Let me guess. White man came and murderized thousands of native people so now there’s a curse upon the land.” Frisk giggled.

“Got it in one,” she admitted. “More specifically, after losing a battle, one of the chief literally said that if any living being ever tried to settle on the land, they would meet a fate worse than death. After that, there are dozens of stories and cases of people going missing or even dying in strange and disturbing ways.”

The trio fell silent following the young ambassador’s explanation. Outside, the sun shone brightly, casting its warming rays onto the people going about their daily lives. Inside the swap brother’s home however, the temperature seemed to drop into the negatives and the only sound was the soft rattle coming from Papyrus’ trembling bones. Chara couldn’t tell if it in anger or whether the older skeleton was terrified of what they’d just heard. The thought of her beloved friends battling against some terrifying supernatural being certainly didn’t sit well with her.

“So...” Papyrus finally spoke up. “Humans are responsible for my brother going missing?” Oh, anger then. And well, Chara couldn’t really blame him.

“Well, yes and no,” Frisk said. “I mean, yes these creatures may have started out as vengeful human beings. But at this point, they’ve lost whatever humanity they had. Once a person has chosen to become Yee Naaldlooshii then that’s game over. It’s like gaining a lot of LoVe all at once. They no longer feel compassion, sadness, fear. To them, any being that steps into their territory is like free exp. They don’t see a sentient being, they see a trespasser or even a hearty meal.”

Chara flopped over the arm on her side of the couch wishing not for the first time that she could just reset everything back to before Sans had decided to become an impromptu explorer. She knew she couldn’t though. She’d made a promise after all.

~ ~ ~

Saturday 1:14 pm Viper’s PoV

  
  


Blue just had to interrupt their peaceful moment one of his questions.

“What are you doing out here anyway?” he asked. “You looked pretty freaked out like you thought I’d abandoned you here with Axe.” Viper pursed his...well not lips. He was a skeleton after all, they didn’t have any lips. In any case, he narrowed his… mouth...bones… and lightly shoved at his friend, his nightmare coming back to the forefront of his mind.

“Don’t even joke about that. Axe is fucking creepy.” he grumbled. “I just had a weird dream and needed to get my bearings again. Blue’s eyelights softened in sympathy.

“Aw man, that sucks, Grandma,” he said. “Do… do you want to talk about it?” Viper shrugged, embarrassed and stared out at the snow burying the bright orange of Swapy’s car.

“We walked into a cabin and found some messed up shit,” he didn’t really want to tell him the whole thing.

“Is that all?” Blue questioned him skeptically. “I mean, we’ve seen plenty of messed up shit before.”

“Well yeah,” Viper hesitated. Not for the first time he found himself really wishing that his friend wasn’t so fucking curious. “But this was way worse. And there was this goopy shadowy thing that kept screaming my name in your voice.” Blue sat up completely straight and stared at him intently. Viper pulled back, trying to get him out of his personal space. Blue was studying him with narrowed sockets.

“You were worried about me, weren’t you.” he said flatly. Viper blinked, then sighed in irritation. Stupid perceptive skeleton.

“It was just some stupid nightmare. Probably a result of us arguing earlier that’s all.” Blue shrugged and thankfully dropped the subject.

“Still, that’s pretty messed up, Dude.” he replied. “Damn, this stuff is really coming down isn’t it? Reminds me of Snowdin back when we lived Underground.” Viper hummed in agreement, thinking the same thing.

“If it keeps up like this, we might be stuck out here longer than just tonight.” he commented. And wasn’t that a worrying statement.

“Don’t worry so much, Grandma,” his friend said. “We still have the radio remember? And I highly doubt that my brother would leave us out here at the mercy of the elements for that long.” Viper scoffed. Well there was that at least. If Swapy had even the slightest inkling that they were unsafe, he’d be out here faster than a bullet train. That thought did settle his nerves quite a bit. Swapy may have been super annoying at times, but he was also extremely protective of the people he cared about. Still, the way the shadows were bouncing off the trees was still making him uneasy, especially after having that nightmare. He thought he caught sight of a deer observing them through the trees.

“We should probably go back inside,” he said in lieu of a reply. “It’s getting colder out here and I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to leave McCreeper alone for too long. Who knows what that weirdo is doing.” Blue laughed but agreed and stretched his limbs and neck out.

“Oh C’mon Viper,” he standing standing up and adjusting his blanket cape around his shoulders. “He’s actually not that bad. I think he’s just… really lonely… and doesn’t know how to act around normal people. His universe is pretty fucked remember?”

Viper rolled his eyelights, standing up as well. “Blue, if you’re what’s considered ‘normal’ then I must be a cat.”

“Hey!” he pouted. “You’re just jealous because he likes me and Red the best!” Viper snorted and followed his best friend inside the cabin. 

“Don’t insult the nicest of our friends by insinuating that you’re like him.” he said. “We both know that you’re an asshole.” Blue shrugged and shot a grin from over his shoulder.. 

“Takes one to know one, Dickhead.”

VIper couldn’t stop the laughter than followed.

ch/end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Viper. Well at least nightmares don't ever come true right? ...right? I do not apologize for my absolutely terrible puns.
> 
> Anyway, the next chapter might be a little slow (because I'm not already moving at a glacial pace =_=' ) work is kicking my ass right now. I officially hate pie. I promise, stuff is going to start happening now that all the set up is finally done.


	6. # I'm in danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "In the middle of the journey of our life; I came to myself; I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost."- Dante Aligheri

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendly reminder that this is meant to be a horror story. As such, there are going to be some disturbing and/or violent scenes in this chapter. No one dies but our lovely trio definitely do not have a good time. Please take precautions if you are sensitive to horror imagery. 
> 
> Other than that. Please enjoy and be sure to check out my tumblr for a three page bonus comic (it's not necessary to understand the chapter)

Chapter Six

Saturday 5:21 pm Viper’s PoV

Trudging through the mud and slush left after the impromptu snowstorm was a fucking nightmare. It was bad enough that the trail that they were supposedly following was already worn from disuse but it was so covered with trees and roots that it was damn near impossible to traverse. And with the light of day quickly disappearing behind a hazy horizon, it was getting increasingly difficult to see virtually anything. Which in turn made for an incredibly irritated Viper.

“Where the hell are we going now Blue?” he growled as he tripped over another goddamn tree root hiding underneath the fluffy white bullshit. He followed behind his best friend as Blue navigated them through the branches and what not deeper into the unending forest. Axe trotted beside him, not really saying much but still with his big fat stupid grin on his stupid creepy face.

It’s just a little further ahead Grandma I promise,” Blue called back. “The park map says that the ruins are just past this grove of trees. It’s supposed to be one of the most haunted sites here and I really really want to check it out.” Viper was only a little jealous at deft and agile Blue was navigating through the dense thicket of trees. Especially with that heavy equipment on his back? Was the idiot part cat or something? It wouldn’t surprise him in the slightest actually.

One of the items that Viper had decided to carry (note: been volunteered to carry) was a small duffle bag labeled “Just in Case” in neat print. Blue’s eyes had lit up when he’d seen it and said it was from his brother (since when did Swapy have such nice handwriting?) In it was an extra first aid kit and several of each of their favorite snack foods and two sets of gloves for each of them in dark blue and cyan. He really hated to admit it but Swapy was pretty cool. It felt slightly strange to be looked after like this, but he was nevertheless incredibly grateful to the older skeleton. But back to the conversation at hand.

“Wait, so why are we camped out in a creepy cabin two miles away?” he asked, glaring at Blue’s back. “Why not at this stupid mansion?”

“Because it’s not the safest place. It’s usually blocked off to the general public. It's supposedly where a lot of really creepy shit happens.”

Viper stopped short and stared at the back of his friend’s head in disbelief.

“Excuse me?” he hissed. “What do you mean blocked off from the general public? Why are we going to such a dangerous location?”

His friend stopped and turned toward him. He rolled his eyes and waved a dismissive hand at him. “We’re not going inside the place, Grandma. I just want to check out the landscape of it and film some scary stories in front of it.” Oh yes, because that made everything just all hunky dory didn’t it?

“Anyway, it’s right up ahead so let’s not waste any time!” Viper looked beyond his friend to see that there was indeed some sort of structure looming up out of the dense foliage.

The mansion, if it could even be called that, was in even worse condition than the cabin that Blue had inventively dubbed “their base”. Viper could definitely see how dangerous it was from where he was standing. The whole front of the house had caved into what had to be the living area and upper floor. Trees and bushes were overgrown through the windows and the broken wooden boards. The trio walked into a smallish clearing and looked over the ruins. Blue was in awe of the structure, stars lighting up his cyan eye-lights.

“This is so freaking cool!” he squealed in delight, spinning around in excitement. Axe didn’t seem to care one way or another, staring up at the mansion with his customary smile on his face. Viper on the other hand didn’t like the look of the place. Not in the slightest.

“Are you serious right now?” he squawked taking a step back. “I’m not going anywhere near that, it’s practically falling apart.” Blue pouted at him. In any other circumstance, Viper would have laughed at his expression. Now? Now he wasn’t having any of it.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he grumbled. “We could blow on that building and knock it down.” Blue gave him an exasperated grin.

“Oh come on, Grandma?” he asked and swung an arm out like he was presenting the mansion as his personal home. “It looks perfectly fine… a perfect example of architecture-” Viper took another step backward as Blue trailed off. His eyes glazed over he tilted his skull as if he were listening to something only he could hear. Viper squinted at his friend’s sudden shift in attitude.

“B-blue?” he breathed, reaching out. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Axe was standing behind him, glowering at the skeleton in front of them. His grin had completely vanished. Viper had never seen the monster look so serious before.

“Stop.” he hissed. “Something isn’t right.” Oh no shit. Gee thanks for that brilliant deduction, Sherlock. Viper turned back to the swap skeleton. Blue was turned completely facing the house now, looking up at it reverently like it held all the secrets to the universe and he was on the brink of discovering them.

“Can’t you hear her?” he uttered softly. He took a staggering step forward. “She’s calling for us. She needs our help….” The leaves and branches crunched quietly under his booted feet. He ambled toward the front door, determined strides drawing him closer to the broken down structure.

Viper wrenched away from Axe. What the fuck was Blue doing? He tried to use his magic to pull his friend back but something blocked him. The magic fizzled out before it even reached Blue.

“What the fuck?” he yelped and tried again. And again, it faded as Blue disappeared into the building.

“Blue, stop!” he cried out. “What the fuck are you doing? Get back here!” He growled in frustration and took off after the swap skeleton.

“Stay out here, Axe,” he called out over his shoulder. “There’s no need for all both of us to risk our lives because this stupid idiot can’t be bothered to listen to us.” He scrambled through the splintered wooden door frame after Blue, frantic to catch up to his friend.

Saturday 6:01 pm Blue PoV

The woman’s voice was so soft that he thought he had missed it.  _ “It hunts the outside from within….beckoning… calling to only those who hear its sweet siren’s song.” _

He had to find them. She sounded so sad. Why was she all the way out here?  _ “What you see is false. A picture created to set you at ease.” _

He felt his body move on its own accord, but he couldn’t fight it. But why should he? The woman wouldn’t hurt him. Everything was just fine.

The house was dark. And quiet. Even though there was debris literally laying everywhere, he couldn’t hear his own footsteps. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that this was a mistake. He shouldn’t have left Viper and Axe, but he couldn’t stop his legs from taking him through the dank and smelly hallways. Where was he even going?

There was a staircase in front of him. Old and rickety. The wood of the steps looked damn near rotted through. It would in no way be safe for him, slight in stature as he was, to climb it.

Wait. Stop. The first faded stair groaned under his weight. What the hell was he doing? The second nearly gave way under him.

Three. Four. Five. Six  _ “It picks apart your psyche, breaking you down until you are no more. Until you become its willing puppet. _ ”

Higher and higher he climbed. Nine. Ten. Eleven…

The top floor was little more than thin slivers of wood held together by a few rusty nails. He found himself looking around at the complete darkness that surrounded him. He should get his phone out to use his flashlight but his limbs felt so heavy. His soul felt like it was being dragged down to the very depths of hell itself.

A lumbering step forward on the shaky hardwood floor.

_ “A myth they call it. A legend. But here, in its dark lair, only freedom is the myth.” _

“H-hello?” he called out hesitantly. “I-is anyone here?” There was nothing but the quiet whisper of the wind through the holes and cracks in the walls.

Blue curled in on himself, shivering slightly in the sharp night air. “I heard you outside. Do you need help or something?” Gods, the air was freezing in here, his coat was doing practically nothing against the cold. His breath came in short visible puffs of air.

_ “I was once like you. A little moth drawn to the flame of their own destruction.” _ His eyes started drooping and he shook his skull violently. His mind was fogging over as if something was draining his energy from him.

_ “I came… and it took me. Nourished its body with my soul.” _

He took another labored step. It was so hard to move now. The air around him was stifling but it was still so fucking cold.

“Where are you?” he asked. “Are you a ghost or something? Are you doing this to me?”

A sound from below him made him jump. Vi...per…? Had his friend followed him into the house? The sounds were frantic. Footsteps. It had to be Viper right? He was afraid to think about what else might be in this broken down and abandoned building with him if it wasn’t.

“Viper?” he whimpered. “Grandma is that you?”

_ “Beware the voices you know, for they tell its lies.”  _ Blue groaned as the fog grew stronger. He cradled his skull in one of his hands. The woman’s voice was closer, nearly directly next to him. But he was positive that he was here by himself. His stomach was rolling, making him nauseous. He groaned again and stumbled forward, his balance thrown off by some unseen force.

“ _ Beware the faces you see,” _ the fog just wouldn’t go away. His sight flickered in and out. His shivering intensified. This wasn’t a panic attack. He’d had plenty of those to know that for a fact. This feeling…. This was something entirely different.  _ “for they are his mirrors.” _

Oh gods, he felt sick. He staggered forward again. Why had he come here again? Where was he anyway? The world around him was hazy and dim. Fuck he was going to faint wasn’t he? One more step would be his downfall. Literally.

The flimsy flooring finally gave way with a sickening crack and he felt his ankle snap as he fell downward into the pitch darkness behind him, the woman’s shadowy voice whispering to him as he blacked out

_ “Beware your own body, for it has seen you. Chosen. You.” _

#fml…

Saturday 5:54 pm ??????

  
  


_ It watched them. Monitoring and memorizing their every move and mannerism. It curiously turned its head from side to side; these creatures were not like his usual prey. It had never seen their kind before such vibrant and colorful souls. Their life blood was so strong that it made the creature salivate. _

_ It was so hungry. The thought of their supple porcelain bodies crunching in between its sharp needle like teeth made it vibrate in excitement. _

_ It knew that at least one of its prey was slowly becoming aware of its presence. It hadn’t exactly been careful, but the fear that permeated their meat was just far too tantalizing to resist. _

_ Now though, they had walked directly into its path. It would feed. And their life force would nourish it for years. _

_ For now…. It had to take care of that pesky noisy machine they’d brought with them… _

Saturday 6:48 pm Viper’s PoV

  
  


How in the seven fiery fucking hells had Blue managed to disappear so fucking quickly?! Viper tried to keep calm as he attempted to navigate the dangerous living area of the mansion. It was worse than what it looked like from the outside. Broken boards and dirty rotten furniture lay around him in the overgrown rooms. Shit this entire place was fucking destroyed.

“Blue,” he yelled out, hoping that the other skeleton would answer. “Blue where are you? Answer me, dammit.” He searched each room frantically, each time coming up with nothing. This place wasn’t even that big. Was he just wandering around in circles?

“Fuck,” he seethed. The icy cold hand of panic had clenched his soul, the longer Blue was gone. He needed to find him now. He vaguely recalled his dream, recalled the bodies all hunched over. Bloody faces contorted in fear and agony. A shadowy figure calling for him….

He cursed when he tripped over an overturned floor board.

“Blue!” he screamed out desperately. A crash from directly above him caught his attention. Up...Stairs…? Christ on a stick, why hadn’t he thought about that?! But the floors were rotten. He carefully made his way to where he’d seen a dirty staircase near the entrance to the house.

Just as he got to the first step, another sickening crack alerted him that something was very very wrong. Surprised, he looked up just in time to see a large hole up above him and a lump fall right in front of him.

He stared at the figure in shock. Crumpled in front of him covered in dirt and grime was Blue. All this time, he’d been so close. Why hadn’t he heard Blue? Why hadn’t  _ Blue _ heard  _ him _ ?! He crouched in the muddy and dirty floor and reached out to him.

The swap skeleton was clearly unconscious with a nasty looking crack on the side of his skull. His eye-lights were completely dark and he was pretty sure that one of his ankle was broken, if the blue magic that encompassed it was any indication.

“Fucking hell Blue,” he breathed, horrified at what he was seeing. He cradled his best friend against his chest. The other monster barely stirred in his grasp. He tried to summon his magic to carry him out of the house, but couldn’t barely manage a small blip, and even that left him drained as if he’d lifted an entire truck.

“Axe,” he called out, praying that the creepy bastard could hear him. “I need help here.” There was a loud “pop” beside him and the horrortale monster appeared with a concerned look. The older monster instantly took control of the situation and took hold of the two younger monsters.

“Hang on,” he growled. In a blink of an eye the trio was back in the cabin outside of their tent. Axe wasted no time in ripping off the pack that Viper was still carrying and pulling out the first aid kit.

“We need to take care of that crack before it gets worse and check to make sure that and the ankle are his only injuries.” Viper followed along swiftly, handing each item to Axe as soon as he asked for them. He knew how bad a head injury could get. What it could do to change a person and he’d be damned if he’d let it happen again.

Once they had finished patching up their friend, the two monsters sat back and sighed. Blue’s head elevated by resting on Viper’s leg as he slept. Viper stared down at him grimly, willing his best friend to wake up.

“He’ll be okay.” Axe said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We have a bigger problem to focus on.” Viper looked up at his inquisitively. What else could go wrong...?

  
  


Saturday 7:41 pm 

_ Blue was back Underground. In the Ruin of New Home if the crumbling stone structures were any indication. He had to be dreaming because he’d never actually been in New Home before, only heard Chara talk about it from her time with Asgore. Even without any foreknowledge of the Ruins, he knew instinctively where he was at. The walls surrounding him stretched into a long dark, wet hallway that smelled of earth. _

_ He had full control of his body but not what was going on around him. He’d read somewhere that once a person realized that they were in a dream that they were supposed to be able to control their surroundings. That was apparently not the case this time. The darkness was almost suffocating but the walls were still glowing with the gentle magic of the Underground’s magical core, casting just pale light for him to see around. He couldn’t decide if that made it better or worse. _

_ Blue could just make out the familiar smell of damp earth and feel the clamminess of his own hands. He reached out and touched the damp wall and immediately pulled away. The walls were PULSING; undulating up and down around him. His soul beat faster and his anxiety spiked. Was it supposed to be this vivid. His dreams weren’t normally this... realistic. _

_ He forced himself to breathe slowly and evenly, like Papy had shown him when the panic started to overwhelm him. This was just some silly dream. There was nothing here that could possibly harm him. He stood at the end of the long dark hallway, there were no doors in or out of the hall. The only way to go was forward, so that’s what he did. One foot in front of the other down an endless winding hall. Blue didn’t really want to know what was waiting at the end. _

_ The hallway transformed into something rough and sagging, resembling something more like what an animal would dig rather than the sophisticated architecture of the Monsters. Sighing he continued on his way slowly. Blue reeaallly didn’t want to go any further, but it wasn’t like he could go anywhere else. A whisper in the stagnant air, pulling him to a stop. And wasn’t that creepy as fuck? He couldn’t make out the words exactly so he started walking once more. _

_ He tried to ignore the voice but it grew louder, bouncing off the walls surrounding him, pounding in his skull and attacking his senses from all sides. _

_ “BEWARETHEVOICES,BEWARETHEFACES,BEWARETHEVOICES,BEWARETHEFACES,BEWARETHEVOICESBEWARETHEFACES-” _

_ Blue trembled, whimpering and hugged himself as he walked. The panic was back ten-fold. He was fine. He wasn’t Underground any longer. He was Aboveground. He lived with his big brother would would never let him go back ever. He had a best friend. There were people who actually liked to spend time with him. _

_ His eyes were wide with fear, staring at the end and trying to see what it was that was down there with him. The whispers grew in intensity, the longer he walked. Finally he could make out what they were saying. _

_ “KEEP CLOSE TO THE CRACKED SOUL FOR HE WILL BE YOUR SALVATION. HUSH NOW, LITTLE LAMB RIPE FOR THE SLAUGHTER. YOUR EXECUTIONER IS SEARCHING… _

_ Blue spun around, his chest heaving in panic. Something was coming up the tunnel. He couldn’t see anything and he couldn’t hear anything but he knew. He could sense it. Something ancient, clawing and crawling its way toward the surface through the dirt and mud. Centuries of isolation twisting and changing it into something otherworldly and sinister. _

_ And it was coming straight for him. _

_ He was frozen. Nowhere to hide from the creature. _

_ “WAKE UP… WAKE...UP” _

Blue screamed, struggling to find his way out of the nest of thick blankets wrapped securely around him. Hands grabbed at his own and he fought against them.

“Goddammit, Blue. It’s me! Fucking stop already!” That voice. He knew that voice.

“V-viper?” he choked out. He gulped down breath after breath until his vision started to clear. Getting his bearings, he realized that he was inside their tent. At the cabin. And that it was indeed Viper who had grabbed him. The other monster looked disheveled and dirty. Eye-lights dim with exhaustion. Had…. had he been crying?

“Wha… what happened?”

“You fell through the floor at the fucking mansion you absolute moron,” Viper hissed. “You, know, the one you said was too dangerous to explore and then  _ immediately  _ ran into. You knocked yourself out and broke your ankle.”

Blue vaguely remembered the mansion. Hearing the woman’s voice… walking inside… His body started throbbing with a vengeance. Was that a bandage? 

“Well shit,” he whimpered, reaching up to feel his skull.That would explain why he felt like he’d been hit by a bus “That’s gonna put a damper on our epic adventure.” 

Viper lightly knocked his hand away from his bandage. “You think?” he hissed. “You could have really been hurt out there. You’re lucky that Axe and I were there to save your ass. Skull injuries are no fucking joke. What am I supposed to do if you fucking die you fucking idiot?!” Blue slumped over guiltily averted his eyes. 

“Yeah,” he admitted. “That was really stupid of me. I don’t know what happened. One minute I was talking with you outside and the next I’m standing on a rickety floor with some ghost lady whispering in my ear and waking up inside our tent.” When the Swap monster could bring himself to finally look at his friend, his dark blue eyes were wide with both fear and a not so distant memory…

Oh fucking hell.

“Shit, Viper, I’m so sorry,” he said. “I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking.” Viper closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He nodded with clenched teeth, trying to suppress his own anxiety so that he wouldn't start screaming at Blue. Yelling at one another would do nothing to solve their problem. 

“It’s...fine…” he choked out. He released another shaky breath. “It’s done and over. You’re awake now and that’s all that matters.” Fuck, he could feel tears start to prick at his own eyes. He was not going to start crying now. He was better than that. Stronger. He cleared his throat and sniffed to compose himself. Hands grabbed onto his tightly and he couldn’t help but squeeze back. 

“Hey,” Blue murmured softly. “It’s gonna be okay. God, you always appear so calm and put together that sometimes it’s hard to remember that you had a pretty shit childhood. We’ll just call Paps and tell him that we’re coming home early. And then we’ll go see a movie, just like you wanted.” 

Viper averted his eyes and refused to answer him. Blue raised a brow-bone. “What’s wrong? Oh god don’t tell me that he’s already here.”

Viper sighed and looked at his best friend with weary eye-lights. He didn’t want to tell Blue this part, but he couldn’t take the earnest look that he was giving him. 

“Blue,” he started slowly, his voice catching in his throat. “We can’t call Swapy. None of our phones have any service on them. And we can’t leave. The car won’t start and we lost the radio beacon when you ran into the mansion.”

Blue was silent when Viper finished. He was just about to ask if the Swap skeleton was alright when he turned away from him and promptly vomited all over their blankets.

Viper winced. “Did I mention that you may also have a concussion?”

  
  


Ch/end

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy. 
> 
> Well, at least someone is enjoying the apocalypse :)
> 
> Yep. Everything is going absolutely perfectly, nothing wrong with anything that's happening right now :)
> 
> I'm sure this is all going to end happily ever after and no one is going to be completely and utterly traumatized :)
> 
> Don't worry my lovelies. I split the chap up to make it easier to read, the next part will be out in no time at all!!!


	7. Somewhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoever ordered the Angst with an extra side of pain....
> 
> your order is ready :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Finished the last chapter and went to plan out this one.  
-Realized that the reason that I was having major writer's block is because I had written myself into a bloody corner of continuity hell  
-had to go back through previous chapters and change certain scene so that everything that needs to happens can actually work in a cohesive and accurate manner
> 
> In other words, if you haven't already, go back and check out the changes in the previous chapters so that the rest of the story makes sense :D
> 
> Hey check out this amazing art done for the previous chapter:https://history-fanatic-4-ever.tumblr.com/post/190427177988/ahhhhhhhhhh-it-looks-so-amazing-this-is
> 
> And here for chapter five: https://history-fanatic-4-ever.tumblr.com/post/610872887918903296/imjustalazycat-fanart-for-the-gorgeous

“ _ Lost in the darkness, try to find your way home _

_ I want to embrace you and never let you go _

_ Almost hope you’re in heaven _

_ So no one can hurt your soul _

_ Living in agony cause I just do not know _

_ where you are.”- Somewhere by Within Temptation _

  
  


Chapter Seven

_ Wednesday 8:21 am Pup’s PoV _

Laying in bed that morning was exhausting. He’d only just opened his eyes and he already longed for the sweet oblivion of sleep again. He hadn’t been able to do much else since he and Swapy had been kicked off the search teams. Both of their Alphys’ had told them that since neither of them were certified as Lost and Rescue workers they would apparently hinder their efforts more than help. Swapy hadn’t taken that well. Pup hadn’t either but what was he supposed to do? He trusted that Alphys knew what she was doing but he didn’t have to like it.

He stared up at the ceiling of his room, trying to convince himself to get up and start the day, but the thought of doing so without his little brother puttering around caused a painful throb in his soul and brought more tears to his sore and swollen eyelights.

He sniffed as they rolled down his face. God Pup was so sick of crying. He just felt so helpless without Sans around. And he hated all of the pitying looks from the others. Only Swapy had been treating him semi normally. Then again, he hadn’t exactly spoken to the other skeleton since leaving the station. It wasn’t like he could blame Swapy though, considering that he too was suffering the loss of his own younger brother. He didn’t want the ‘thoughts’ and ‘prayers’ he’d been receiving on social media. They didn’t bring Sans back or put Blue back in Swapy’s arm again. He didn’t want kind thoughts, he wanted answers.

He curled up under his comforter, trying to stifle his painful sobs so that he wouldn’t wake Iris up for the third day in a row; but the pain was a constant, never ending whirlpool of agony. Not knowing, not having any kind of clue was the worst. He couldn’t count the times that he’d called Viper’s phone the past few days just to listen to his voicemail.

Why? Why did it always have to be  _ his _ brother? Sans had never done anything to deserve what life had thrown at him. And over and over Pup had failed to protect him. This whole mess was just the latest in his incompetent screw ups. Even when they were in a safe place where they were supposed to finally be happy, he still couldn’t stop the bad things from happening.

Everything was absolutely awful. He hiccuped and coughed in a feeble attempt to calm himself. But what would the point be? He’d still be a useless pile of bones. After some time, his cries finally dwindled into whimpers and sniffles. He was even more exhausted than before, his crying giving him a savage headache. He wiped his eyes and pulled his blankets up around his chin.

He’d take a small nap. Just a little one. Then he’d be able to be productive.

~ ~ ~

_Sunday_ _10:21 am Blue’s PoV_

As if it hadn’t been embarrassing enough that he’d upchucked all over himself and his blankets last night, he hadn’t even had the energy to help Viper and Axe clean up the mess. He’d even had to have Viper help him change his clothing while Axe hunted out blankets to replace the ones that had vomit on them. Once everything was done, Viper had lain next to him as he fell back asleep, hand clenched tightly in the Swapfell monster’s. As he’d drifted off, he could just make out Viper’s whimpered plea.

“ _ Please, don’t leave me...” _

It had all felt like a hazy dream after that and when he’d woken up in the tent by himself he was unsure of whether or not it had even actually happened. Thankfully, he was feeling much better. More clear headed and less like he’d been in a boxing ring with Alphys for five hours. He rubbed at his eyes and crawled out of their shelter to find an orange, jerky and a bottle of water placed right outside the door flap. Axe was tending to the fire he’d just lit. He squinted in the morning light and greeted him.

The horror skeleton smiled at him but didn’t speak as he gestured to Blue’s small breakfast. Blue took that to mean that he should eat. Axe offered him a small light blue fleece blanket which Blue immediately wrapped around himself to block out the morning chill. He grabbed his food and sat down next to Axe.

“So,” he asked, nibbling on his jerky. “how bad off are we really?” The older skeleton poked at the embers he was attempting to further stoke.

“I tried to find the bags that you and Viper carried yesterday. They are gone. Along with all the equipment that was inside.” Blue nodded. He vaguely remembered that conversation. So that meant no radio beacon or two-way radios. Fantastic.

“The food that was in the bags was not part of our main rations but even still we only brought enough to last yesterday and today. No one really ate anything last night after we returned from the rotten house but if we monitor and limit how much and how often we eat from now on, we can make it last until Tuesday at the latest. I also noticed that there were some edible berries and things still growing in the woods that we can use to supplement our meals.” Blue made no comment on the fact that Axe’s biggest concern was their food. He didn’t know what Axe’s universe was like but he heard stories of the disastrous famine that had struck that particular Underground.

“If anyone can get us through this, it’s you,” he said. Axe smiled at the compliment. “Anything else? Viper said we have no cell service?” The small fire sputtered with a small woosh and Blue held his hand out to feel the warmth coming from it.

“There are patches where Viper can get a bar, but he cannot get a call or a message through. Our magic is also not working properly.” Blue froze in the middle of peeling his orange, feeling uneasy once again.

“What do you mean?” he asked hesitantly.

“Viper cannot use his blue magic or any of his weapons or attacks and my shortcuts are extremely limited. I seem to be able to move within our direct surroundings but I cannot leave the forest.”

That was… definitely not good. Blue sighed. He wanted to freak out but honestly he was just too fucking tired.

“Well, that’s just terrific.” he choked, setting down his half-peeled fruit. He didn’t have much of an appetite anymore. “Where is Viper now?” Axe tilted his head back to indicate that his best friend was outside the cabin. Blue nodded and stood up slowly.

“You should rest,” Axe commented. “We’re going to be here for a while. You will need to keep your strength.”

“Thanks, but I’d better make sure that Grandma isn’t doing anything too stupid out there. I promise to stay on the porch.”

Outside the snow had all but melted in the warm autumn sunlight. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to the rapidly changing weather on the surface, but he was glad that the storm had passed. That was at least one worry to erase from their long list. He didn’t want to go completely outside since he wasn’t wearing shoes so he plopped himself just outside the door, keeping it open so Axe could see him as well if he needed to.

He wasn’t sure exactly what he was expecting to find when he walked out the front door but he was starting to think that he was going to spend the whole weekend outside on the porch and not exploring the surrounding woods like he had planned. That’s not to say that the scene currently unfolding in front of him wasn’t entertaining. If anything, he was having more fun watching Viper screech at his brother’s car, and if he had any sort of internet connection, he’d definitely be live-streaming.

“Come on you stupid hunk of metal,” Viper whined, kicking at the wheels of the bright orange vehicle. “It was only snow! Why won’t you just fucking  _ start _ ?!”

Okay, so maybe taking a small video wouldn’t hurt. He’d just upload it when they got back home. He shuffled around in the little cocoon he was in until he could pull out his cell phone. He frowned at the blinking icon in the corner, letting him know that there was absolutely no signal where he was sitting. Ignoring it, he opened his camera app, and he hit the film option. He pointed it at his best friend, angling it just right to get the best view of Viper’s losing battle with the silent car.

He supposed that he should be lucky that the device was still intact after his fall although his skull hadn’t been nearly as fortunate. The crack that started at the top left wasn’t big, but it did hurt like a son of a bitch. He didn’t want to make a huge fuss though, considering that he could see that Viper was already freaking out more than enough for the both of them.

It wasn’t like he could blame him. They were literally trapped out here in the middle of fucking nowhere with little food and their only mode of transportation was mysteriously out of commission for no reason at all.

“Just start you stupid car!” Viper’s angry groans knocked him from his thoughts. He huffed lightly and shut his camera off.

“Maybe you should take a break, Grandma,” he called out. Viper looked over, startled at the sound of his voice. His eyes grew comically wide as he marched over the porch. Blue gave him a little grin and a wave.

“What are you doing out here?” he demanded, stopping in front of him and crossing his arms. Blue raised a brow-bone at the state of dress his best friend was in. The temperature may have risen considerably but it was nowhere warm enough for Viper to be running around without his heavy jacket on.

Blue answered Viper’s question with one of his own. “Why are you out here dressed like a Calvin Klein t-shirt model?” Viper coughed out a surprised snicker and came up to sit beside him.

“You’re so freaking weird,” he grumbled fondly and leaned back on his elbows. “But seriously, what are you doing up? You should be resting right now before you make that crack in your skull worse.”

Blue rolled his eyes and pulled his blanket closer around his shoulders. His best friend was so kind, but he worried way too much. And he was sitting here, fussing over him, shaking. His breathing was getting rather erratic, it was almost like he was having a- Oh...

“It’ll be alright Viper,” he said urgently, nudging him gently. “It’s just a little bump, nothing major-”

“ _ You don’t know that _ !” Viper cut him off violently. Blue stared at him in surprise. The other skeleton sat up and glared at him viciously.

“You don’t know anything at all,” he hissed, bones rattling audibly. “You could have fucking  _ died _ yesterday you idiot. What the hell were you thinking?!” Blue didn’t respond. He couldn’t. Nothing he had to say would make any of this better.

“Why don’t you ever  _ think _ before doing something,” Viper continued ranting, starting to hyperventilate. “We’re stuck out here in this stupid haunted forest all because you couldn’t just talk to me like a normal person.” Blue swallowed. It wasn’t like he was wrong.

“I-I’m sorry,” he choked out. “You’re right. This  _ is _ my fault and I’ve dragged you and Axe into it and I don’t know how to fix it.” He scrubbed at his eyes. Like hell he was going to cry now. This wasn’t about him. He looked down at his lap, unwilling to face the other monster.

Viper cradled his face in his hands and sighed loudly although it sounded more like a growl.

Blue sniffed. “I don’t deserve you worrying about my stupid ass _ .  _ But please, please don’t be angry with me-”

“I’m not mad, Blue,” Viper said, muffled by his hands. “I’m fucking  _ scared _ . I’ve never been in this kind of situation before and it really scares me.” he scrubbed at his own eyes.

“I’m seeing walking shadows, having nightmares about said shadows calling to me and yesterday...” Blue felt the icy cold hand of guilt pulling at his soul watching his best friend breakdown beside him.

“And I don’t care if you don’t believe me but from the moment we got here, there’s been something nagging at me. Like there’s someone out there watching us, waiting until the right moment to strike.”

Blue froze, remembering the voice that had drawn him into the house the day before.

“ _ It picks apart your psyche, breaking you down until you are no more.” _

Well Ghost Lady, you were definitely right on that one. He was witnessing it right now to one of the strongest monsters he’d ever known.

“When you walked into that house, it was like you were a completely different person,” Viper’s voice was shaking now, and watching the tears fall from his best friend’s eyes made him angry. Angry at himself for putting his best friend in this situation. “I couldn’t find you. You were so close to me and yet… I  _ couldn’t reach you.  _ It was almost like someone was trying to hide you from me and I couldn’t do a goddamn thing about it. Just like before, I was helpless to save someone that I cared about.”

That was the final straw for the Swap skeleton. Before he could stop himself, Blue reached out and gathered Viper’s shuddering form in his arms. “I can’t go through that again Blue,” Viper sobbed into his blanket. “I won’t make it a second time, I know I won’t.”

Viper’s PoV

His tears eventually dried yet he couldn’t seem to stop the trembling in his bones. Gods he couldn’t believe that he’d just done that. They didn’t have time for him to breakdown like a small child. He’d learned years ago that crying never did anything but make you tired. Why was it Blue who always managed to find a way under his carefully crafted wall, when not even Iris or Alphys could? Fuck he couldn’t even bring himself to pull away from Blue’s warm embrace. For that matter, when was the last time that he had been held like this? Memories of electronic beeping from medical equipment and blank eyelights that came flooding back and he had to stop himself from spiraling in despair again.

His skull rested on Blue’s shoulder and he sniffled, feeling exhausted. He listened to the muffled chirps and tweets of the forest birds. It was almost peaceful. His hand laid over his best friend’s ribcage, feeling the slow rhymatic beat of his soul against the bone. He was okay. Blue was alive, he told himself. He wasn’t alone and Blue was sitting right here beside him. He was so fucking pathetic, he couldn’t handle one small incident.

“You okay?” Blue whispered to him softly. Absolutely not. He felt utterly raw and vulnerable and really just wanted to sleep. He managed a weak nod however and gave his friend one final squeeze before pulling away slowly. He wiped his eyes and sat back in his previous position, this time with his knees drawn up to his chest.

“I’m sorry,” he said, the embarrassment from his display hitting him fully. He averted his eyes away from the other monster. What would Blue think about him now? He was supposed to be the strong one, the one who had it all together. How was the swap monster supposed to trust him to be his support now?

“Hey,” Blue said. “Don’t apologize, Viper, I get it.” The swapfell skeleton worried his bottom lip and finally turned to face him. He was a little surprised to see that Blue’s eyelights were damp and reddened around the corners. He didn’t know what to say. Blue sniffed and tilted his head with a small smile.

“I’m uh… not sure what to say now,” he admitted sheepishly. “It’s weird being on the other side of one of those, I almost didn’t know what to do.” Viper shook his head and gave a wet chuckle. His best friend was ridiculous.

“Whatever,” he said awkwardly. “Uh, thanks though. For the hug I mean.” Blue grinned and rewrapped his fleece blanket around him.

“You’re welcome.” he chirped before getting a thoughtful expression on his face. Viper leaned away from him. That expression never boded well for anyone.

“What?” he asked. “What’s wrong?” Blue shook himself and took a deep breath.

“I don’t want you to freak out or anything,” he started. Oh yes, because every piece of  _ good _ news started with the phrase ‘ _ don’t freak out _ ’.

“Just tell me, would you?” he said feeling the icy grip of panic again.

“ _ Idon’trememberhowIgotintothehouseyesterday.”  _ He said it so fast that Viper almost didn’t catch it. When it finally filtered through his internal ‘Blue translator’ he blinked. That couldn’t be right…

“What?!”

Wednesday 1:34 pm Swapy’s PoV

The silence inside the little kitchen was oppressive when he and Frisk shortcut into the Swapfell skeleton’s household. The young ambassador had ended up staying at the house the previous night after discussing what to do about his brother’s case. Frisk had been a surprising balm to his and Chara’s hurting souls. She was quick witted and insightful and more than willing to use her vast network of resources to help them. It had been her idea to visit the other skeleton’s house to share the information that

Iris was sitting stiffly at the table with a cup of what looked like lukewarm or cold tea held tightly in her hands. The human had a grim look on her face and tapped the side of her mug with her nails. She looked worried about something…. Well something  _ else _ besides the fate of one of her closest friends of course. She looked up when the other two popped into existence beside her and gave Frisk a small smile in greeting before returning to staring into her mug.

“Well, it’s under less than desirable circumstances,” Frisk said softly. “But it’s good to see you, Love.” Iris hummed at the ambassador. Frisk walked over to the other human and sat down in the chair beside her, leaving Swapy awkwardly standing by the oven. The older monster shifted his gaze, wanting to give the girls a private moment.

Instead he turned his attention to the rest of the room. He didn’t spend a whole lot of time inside this house other than to occasionally pick his brother up. The kitchen was very reminiscent of his own and he was curious about whether or not the rest of the house would be familiar. His eyes landed on the window that led out to the neatly kept front lawn. The sun was shining brightly in a brilliantly blue sky as it warmed the earth below it. It seemed so wrong that the day would be so beautiful when inside he felt so cold and desolate. Was Blue sitting out in that sun right now? Was he warm enough? Did he have enough food-

“Swapy,” The young woman’s voice knocked him from his thoughts. “Don’t just stand there, come and sit down. I wanna go over some of the research notes Alphys and I have compiled.” Swapy smiled tightly. More fucking research. He did as she asked and slumped down into a chair across from the girls.

“What are we trolling today?” he asked conversationally. “Reddit? Tumblr? You know Chara is better at navigating those sites right?” He tried to make his voice light and friendly but couldn’t stop just the slightest bit of frustration from seeping through. Frisk rolled her eyes, taking his tone in stride.

“Be that as it may,” she said pulling out an iPad from the bag she’d brought with her. “Chara is running a small errand for me. Plus I was getting tired of her asking if Sans and I were a thing.” She opened the red case of the tablet and set it up so that they could all see the screen.

“Now scoot over here and help me sort through these notes while we wait for Iris’ Papyrus.” Swapy huffed and slid his chair closer.

“Where is Pup anyway?” he asked, leaning on his hand. Gods, he needed a smoke. Iris’ eyes flicked out the door presumably to where the bedrooms were.

“He hasn’t come down today,” she admitted. “I’m really starting to worry. He’s barely spoken or eaten the last few days. I keep expecting you-know-who to come waltzing down those stairs and I just don’t think I can deal with him right now.” Swapy froze.

Oh. Well that explained the worried look she’d had when they came in. How could Swapy not have thought about that possibility? This was just the sort of stressor that could trigger the bastard.

He wasn’t exactly sure on the details but the kind and childish skeleton that had yet to make an appearance had a much, much, darker side to him. Immature, rude and extremely aggressive, Rex was perpetually stuck in the mindset of an angry teenager. He didn’t know of anyone who was  _ fond  _ of him but he and the rest of their group tolerated him for the sake of Viper and Pup. Which in retrospect probably only served to make Rex even more angry and violent. Hopefully they wouldn’t actually encounter him.

“Alright… we’ll just cross that bridge if we get to it,” Frisk said cautiously. Her iPad dinged with a notification. The princess of Monsters perked up slightly at the icon that appeared on the screen. Swapy leaned over just in time to see a familiar yellow monster disappear, although she was wearing thick horned rimmed glasses and had not a scar anywhere on her face.

“Right on cue as usual, Alph,” she chirped and opened the attachments she’d just been sent. Swapy forgot about the skeleton upstairs for the moment and watched curiously as she scrolled through the long list of articles all bearing “ _ Skinwalker _ ” somewhere in the title. There were over 100.

“Not that these aren’t interesting, Princess,” he said impatiently. “But how exactly is reading through these things again supposed to help find my little brother? You already seem pretty like you know a lot about these fuckers, why aren’t we out there doing something about it?” He wanted to keep the frustration from his voice but he just didn’t understand why they were doing this again. His fists clenched as he tried to keep from slamming them on the table. Both girls looked up at him with sympathetic eyes. Fuck that look too.

“I know it feels like we’re just running around in circles,” Iris said. “But the more we understand about this creature, the better we can defeat it and save Blue and Viper.” It made sense. Swapy knew that it did. But he was sick of just sitting around twiddling his phalanges like a school child. He wanted his baby brother!

He flinched when Frisk placed a hand on top of his. He took a deep breath and let go of the tension collected in his bones.

“Undyne is going to drop off all the evidence they’ve collected,” she said, and he’d be lying if he said that her voice did soothe the agitation in his mind. “Just take a breath okay? Trust that we’re doing all that we can to bring them home.

Swapy held her hand and focused on his breathing like Frisk had suggested. Like he’d often told Blue to do when panicking. He could do this. He could  _ do this. _

A loud crash from upstairs startled all three of them.

“ _ FUCKING SHIT! _ ” screamed out an angry voice. An angry voice that at least two of them recognized clearly.

Fucking shit indeed….

Wednesday 3:14 pm Swapy’s PoV

Well wasn’t this the most awkward situation that he’d ever found himself in. The group had migrated into the living room following the exclamation from upstairs. Swapy had hoped that they would luck out but hey, luck seemed to be in short supply lately.

Rex, it turned out (because of course it had been him, dammit) had tripped on his way out of his room. Iris had tried to help him but Rex in his own charming way, simply pushed her off and stood up by himself.

“What the fuck are you assholes doing in my house?” he spat at Frisk and Swapy. The other skeleton slid in front of the princess in an attempt to shield her from Rex. He didn’t want to have to explain to Sans why his human suddenly had multiple broken bones and a split skull. What he didn’t expect however was for the human to scoff and push around him. She gave Rex a fierce glare in the way a mother would glare at her misbehaving offspring.

“There’s no need to lash out like that.,” she said. “All we did was come to see if you were alright. You know, considering we heard your incredibly graceful entrance all the way from the kitchen? We’re not here to humiliate or hurt you. We just want to help. ”

Rex flinched as if struck and Swapy bit back a snort. Frisk wasn’t done though. “I understand that this is a stressful time for all of us but we need to stick together if we’re going to figure this out.”

Holy shit this kid had some balls on her. He didn’t think he’d ever heard someone talk Rex down so quickly. Most people preferred to stay off of his radar. He could only imagine what she was like when speaking to other ambassadors or politicians. He’d bet his entire life saving that she was a sight to watch.

“Y-yeah well fuck you too,” Rex grit his teeth menacingly. “I didn’t ask for help.” Swapy watched in wonder as Frisk not only didn’t appear afraid of the monster( which really she should have been) but rather appeared quite calm and fully put together when she turned around.

“That’s absolutely fine. It’s up to you whether you want our help or not and I’d never presume anything. But Chara  _ has _ asked for my help and I’m not going to half ass it. If you change your mind we’ll be brainstorming in the living room. Feel free to join us if you want but there’s no pressure.” with that she walked off down the stairs and proceeded to park herself on the couch and pull out her phone, effectively dismissing whatever argument Rex wanted to start. Swapy grinned and followed after her, hearing Iris right behind.

He sat beside the young ambassador while Iris took the armchair next to them. He tried to ask her what exactly she was hoping to accomplish but when he opened his mouth to speak, she raised her hand to silence him. She gestured to where they’d left the other skeleton. Two seconds went by, then five, then-

“You could have at least told me who you were, you know.” Rex’s voice came directly in front of them. He had his hand shoved in his jacket pockets and if Swapy didn’t know better, he’d say that Rex was actually pouting. More surprising, Swapy could actually hear less aggression in his tone than just minutes before. Frisk looked up from her phone screen and smiled at the monster in front of her.

“My apologies. I was being pretty rude too huh,” She said and dropped her phone on her lap. “I sometimes forget that I’m not dealing with the grouchy old assholes at the consulate. Believe me, they can get pretty hostile. Especially when a girl much younger than them dares to suggest that everyone deserves rights” That earned her a harsh laugh from the other skeleton in front of her. 

“ Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Frisk Dreemur, I’m from Undertale and am the current Monster ambassador and adopted daughter of the King and former Queen. Nice to meet you.” She held out her hand for him to shake and Swapy watched in utter astonishment as the usually belligerent skeleton did just that. Slowly and carefully as if he were afraid to hurt her. Rex was never afraid to hurt someone, Blue had the scar around his neck to prove it.

“Uh...Rex I guess,” he said hesitantly, shifting his eyes away from her. Frisk smiled at him and shook his hand. “You really think you can find my shit kid brother?”

“It’s nice to finally meet you Rex,” she said cheerfully. “And not to pat myself on the back, but I usually get what I want. And what I want right now is find you and Swapy’s brothers and bring them home.” 

And that led them to where they were now. Sitting around the coffee table with Frisk’s tablet in the center debating how best to kick a Skinwalker’s ass.

“I don’t understand why we’re not out there now, killing everything that gets in our way. Our magic has to be stronger than this fucker” Rex hissed. He’d taken up residence on Frisk’s other side stretched out with his arm slung over the back of her cushion. No Swapy was  _ not  _ jealous. Who said that he was jealous? So what if he was glaring at the other skeleton? He was allowed to not like a man who’d hurt his brother and was generally unpleasant to be around.

“You have magic yes,” Iris said with a shake of her head. “But this thing does too. There are stories that say it can mimic a person’s form or even take control of an entire person and make them do things that they wouldn’t ordinarily do.” Rex scoffed.

“I’m serious, Rex,” The dark haired human continued firmly. “What if you go to attack and all of a sudden you’re staring in the face of your brother. You’re telling me that you’d willingly attack after that?”

She definitely had a point. It was infuriating. They’d been at this for at least a couple hours. Anytime one of them came up with something, Rex would chime in with some sarcastic remark or ridiculous idea.

“Well I don’t see you coming up with anything else,” Rex snapped. “Maybe we just let the little shits figure it out for themselves. They’re the ones who decided to play Dora the fucking Explorer.” That was the final straw for Swapy.

“How can you say something like that,” he exclaimed standing up. “Our little brothers are lost in the middle of nowhere. They could be hurt or dead and you’re not even concerned? No fucking wonder Viper can’t stand you.” He knew it was a mistake the moment he’d said it. But really; trying to punch him was a tad unnecessary.

It wasn’t hard for him to dodge as he just stepped out of the way. He would easily be able to neutralize Rex, he wasn’t even trying.

“Guys stop!” Iris shouted, but Swapy barely heard her over the magic rushing in his ears. He was gearing up for a full on fight. How dare this piece of shit say something like that? Who did he even think he was?

“I’m not the one who let them go out there in the fucking first place!” Rex screeched, furious. “If you actually cared, you’d be fucking out there with them.” Swapy stopped short.

“You can’t even fucking protect the one person who relied on you!” Rex continued. Swapy blocked out the rest of the other’s tirade. It wasn’t like he was wrong. He should have just told Blue no. Maybe then he’d still be here. He’d be safe in his bed tonight instead of wandering around in the middle of a dangerous forest. If he’d just paid a little bit more attention…

“That’s enough you two,” Frisk’s voice broke whatever spell he was under. He blinked and took in the room around him. The princess and Iris were attempting to hold Rex back. To his surprise, the other skeleton had tears streaming down his face and a look of absolute hatred in his orange eyelights.

“You fucking took my brother from me,” he screamed in agony. “You and that shithead brother of yours. They never should have been out there in the first place but you just couldn’t say no to your precious little spoiled brat could you. Sans would be fine! He’d still be here if he’d never met you or Blue!” Iris managed to pull him back, away from the situation. If he hadn’t been in so much turmoil himself, he would have thought it even more surprising at how easy Rex could be led away.

That left him and Frisk in the living room alone. Swapy quivered not really sure what he was feeling at that moment.  _ His fault. All of this was his fault. He should have done better. Been better… _

Frisk started walking toward him, hand outstretched to offer comfort. He flinched away, he didn’t deserve it, didn’t want it.

“I-I need a smoke,” he stammered, stumbling backwards. He turned and fled out the front door.

Chapter/End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Swapy? Swapy what are you doing? Now is hardly the time….
> 
> A little more focus on the other side of the woods.... I'm sure they'll get everything figured out soon....
> 
> If it's not obvious, I struggled writing Swapy and Rex.... like a lot
> 
> So where have I been the last month? 
> 
> uh... let's see... depressive episode(s), roommate is moving out, work went haywire and I lost a bunch of hours and to top it off I had both influenza A and B plus a sinus infection AND bronchitis :D 
> 
> yeah... that about sums it up. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this latest installment, we're nearing the end I think, maybe 5 or so more chapters, depending on how well these boys work with me. 
> 
> Come yell at me about the chapter on my tumblr: https://history-fanatic-4-ever.tumblr.com/


	8. Light's Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which no one is really having a good time, but that's pretty par for the course right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions are answered. But they only lead to more questions.

Chapter 8: Lights Out

“ _ Fall into me and drown inside me _

_ I know you will see, the beauty of me _

_ the beauty of me...”- Alev Lenz _

  
  


_ Sunday 12:13pm Viper’s PoV _

“ What do you mean you don’t remember?” Viper exclaimed wildly. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?” He was  _ not _ going to panic. Memory loss was common after a head trauma. It was fine. Normal.

“ We’ve got to get you to a doctor before it gets any worse!” Okay, so he might have been panicking.

“ Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Blue held up his hands in defense of Viper’s outburst. “What did I just say? I swear it has nothing to do with my fall. At least not in the way that you’re thinking.” That threw a wrench in Viper’s rapidly building stress. He took a deep breath as his soul-rate settled back down. A hand (that he could only assume belonged to Blue) rested on his shoulder squeezed comfortingly.

“ Just...uh...chill?” his friend whispered. Viper scoffed at him.

“ You suck at this,” he found himself chuckling. Blue rolled his eyes, but reluctantly agreed.

“ Yeah, I’m not sure how Paps manages it so easily. He says like two words and he instantly takes all the bad feelings away.” Viper huffed in response.

“ Heh, It must be a big brother thing because Pup is actually pretty good at it too,” he said, feeling calmer by the minute. “He knows just how to distract me.” Blue shifted his eyes away like he was remembering something.

“ Or just a Papyrus thing...” he said cryptically. Viper did not have the stamina to unpack that sentence so he just let it go.

“ I’m sorry about this.” he apologized instead, rubbing the back of his neck. “You have enough on your plate without dealing with my shit too-” He barely managed to hold back a squeak of surprise and confusion when Blue suddenly yanked him by the shoulder he held and pulled him under the blanket.

“ Shut up, Grandma,” the swap skeleton grumbled, blushing at the contact. “What I  _ need _ is for my best friend to take a chill pill and fucking  _ relax _ . Also, watching you sitting there in a t-shirt and shiver like that is making me cold.”

Viper did his best to do as he said, taking multiple breaths and just sitting, listening to Blue’s own steady breathing and the few birds and other animals still scurrying around in the trees. A few minutes later and he really was feeling a hell of a lot better.

“ You know,” he said, leaning against Blue’s shoulder. “It’s entirely your fault that people think we’re dating right?” The randomness of the thought caused Blue to laugh out loud.

“ Hey,” he giggled wickedly. “I don’t control what people think. Especially after that selfie you posted wearing my clothes...” Viper groaned in dismay when Blue waggled his brow bones at him. He shoved him good naturedly.

“ Don’t remind me of that stupid day! I still don’t understand how so many of them were able to tell the freaking difference!” Blue continued to laugh at his friend’s discomfort.

“ But can we get back to our previous topic?” Viper said seriously. He twisted around to look at Blue. “What did you mean you don’t remember the house? And  _ how _ exactly could that possibly  _ not  _ be related to you hitting your head?” Blue shrugged. 

“It’s...hard to explain…” he started. Viper glared at him. 

“Do me a favor and try?” he snapped. “Because I’ve never seen you look like that before. It was eerie. It was like you weren’t yourself.”

“I didn’t  _ feel _ like myself, Viper.” His friend exclaimed. “ One second I was talking to you and the next thing I know I’m standing on paper thin flooring, terrified to take a step and then the floor collapsed under me.” Viper nodded.That aligned with what he knew. There was just one other thing...

“You said someone about a woman ‘calling you’ and that she ‘needed our help’,” he said hesitantly. “But it was only the three of us outside and I searched all over that house when you disappeared and didn’t see anyone either.” 

Blue grunted and resituated himself so that he could lean against the open door frame and still share his warmth with Viper.

“Yeah,” he responded thoughtfully. “I definitely remember hearing that lady. She started spouting all these poetic phrases about moths and sirens and legends and stuff.” 

Viper blink. “Yeah, that does sound weird,” he said. “Maybe she was one of those ghosts we came out here to find?” Blue shrugged again. 

“Maybe,” he whispered. “ She was in my dream last night too. She kept telling me that we shouldn’t trust the voices or faces because there was a creature who wanted to use them against us or something. Honestly, it was all so confusing.” Viper was quiet for a moment.

“A creature that can use face and voices?” he confirmed. He could see all the puzzle pieces, now if only he knew what the picture was supposed to be. “It sounds like the shadow thing from _my_ nightmare. It spoke to me using your voice. Do you think they could be related?” Blue hummed. 

“Whatever it is, Ghost lady made it pretty clear that it wanted to kill us-”

“Oh it would very much like to kill you,” The boys jumped at the sudden appearance of Axe’s voice right behind Blue. Viper couldn’t even get mad at the older skeleton for scaring them this time. He’d completely forgotten that he was there! He twisted his body to face the creepy monster, gesturing for him to continue.

“You sound like you know exactly what this thing is,” he prompted, wanting to keep Axe on track. The older monster shrugged, his eerie smile still firmly in place. His one good eye however, held a note of seriousness that made Viper slightly nervous.

“Depends on what else you two have seen. We don’t want it realizing that we’ve noticed it” His stare sent a shudder down Viper’s spine. He felt a hand clench his arm under the blanket. He glanced at Blue who was staring up at Axe nervously. The swap skeleton swallowed. 

Something in him snapped. This was fucking ridiculous. Blue had already been injured and they were out vital supplies. How were they supposed to defend themselves if they didn’t know what they were up against?

“Dammit, you creepy bastard,” he snapped. “Who the hell cares what we’ve seen. If there’s something after us, then we deserve to know.” Blue nodded silently beside him. It was a little worrying that his friend was being so quiet all of sudden but he’d deal with that once they had some answers. The three monsters stayed in tense silence for a few minutes listening to the soft crackling of the fire inside and the birds calling from the trees. 

Axe finally sighed and got comfortable. He sat down, crossing his legs and placing an elbow on his knee. He cradled his skull in one of his sharp claws and started drumming his other hand on the wooden floor. The whole sight was honestly super creepy. Especially since he was still smiling. It was as if his entire manner had changed. 

“You are smarter than I gave you credit for  _ Kiddo _ ,” he began faintly. “There  _ is _ something in these woods other than animals. The humans call it  _ Ye Naaldalooshi.  _ TV calls it a Skinwalker.” A cold gust of wind blew around them just as Axe spoke the creature’s name. Viper shivered under his blanket. That could not have been a coincidence.

“What...what is it?” he asked. Axe raised a brow-bone and continued drumming his fingers. That heh bone chilling grin still present on his face.

“What the name suggests.” he said. It is a shapeshifter of sorts. I don’t know much else about them other than they use their magic to mimic their prey and ‘steal’ their voices and faces. They are harder than shit to kill and take great pleasure in murdering anyone who enters their territory.” Viper cleared his throat, remembering his nightmare.

“Can… can it take over dreams as well? And make you see things?” he gasped out. Axe shrugged. 

“I have no idea but I assume it means to weaken and confuse you. I have watched it get into peoples’ heads and manipulate them to the point they will do anything to make it stop. Including killing someone else. I also suspect that it is able to manipulate time and space in order to hide from those who could kill it.” 

Viper sat frozen, taking in the information he’d been given. A creature who could manipulate the world around it and mimic its surroundings. How did one fight something like that? Blue shifted beside him. What did he think about all of this?

He had so many questions, he didn’t know where to start. Just as he was about to start bombarding the other monster, a gasp from Blue stopped him in his tracks. He turned to face him to find the Swap skeleton violently shaking and whispering to himself. 

“Blue?” he asked. “Are you okay?” Blue blinked and looked up and Viper. Viper flinched back. The monster staring back at him was not his best friend. Well it  _ was _ … but it wasn’t? Maybe it was the air around them slowly suffocating them? Or he was dreaming again. Maybe Blue’s head injury  _ was _ worse than he had let on. That would make more sense than what he was seeing right now. 

Blue was looking at him with dead black sockets. The familiar and comforting grin was nowhere to be seen. Viper swallowed. “Blue, c’mon, talk to me. What’s going on?” The swapfell skeleton startled when he began to hear howling from the trees all around them. 

“Take him inside,” Axe growled, and in a sudden burst of speed was pushing around Blue and out of the cabin; his one good eye glowing ominously. “Barricade the door. Do not leave until I return.” Viper’s eyes widened as he watched the older skeleton sauntered the porch and away from his younger counterparts.

“Axe what-” he called out weakly. The other glared at him from over his shoulder.

“Not a word.” he snapped before shortcutting away.

At the same time he said this, Blue gave a shuddering gasp. Viper turned his attention back to his best friend, reaching out to steady him. Blue turned terrified cyan eyelights onto him and whispered a single phrase before once again passing out in Viper’s arms.

“It’s here…”

Sinister laughter sounded amid the howls. Shivering violently, he pulled Blue’s unconscious form through the open door of the cabin and slammed it shut behind, unaware of the glowing white eyes watching them from less than 100 yards away.

  
  


_ Wednesday 2pm Frisk’s PoV _

‘Well, that went over like a lead balloon.’ she thought to herself, watching Swapy scramble to get away from her. She sighed heavily and rubbed at her tired eyes. Behind her in the kitchen, Rex continued to shout obscenities and; if the glass crashing against the hard surfaces was any indication, was attempting to destroy the whole room. She’d not had nearly enough sleep to deal with this properly. 

It also didn’t help that she was unfamiliar with these two particular monsters. Even during the… incident… she could count on one hand how many times she had actually interacted with them. She had no idea what she needed to do to help them other than what she was doing.

That wasn’t going to stop her from fixing this of course. And neither was this little set back. Frisk hadn’t gotten to where she was now by giving up at the slightest bit of struggle. If she could mediate a reconciliation between her parents and stand up to greasy old men then this should be a piece of cake.

Briefly she considered where she should start. Both men were very clearly emotional right now and who could blame them? They were probably experiencing the worst fucking nightmare that any parent/guardian could imagine. No one ever expected their loved ones to disappear without a trace, and it’d probably never crossed either of their minds that something they’d only seen in books or on TV could ever directly affect the happy lives they’d built up here on the surface. It was lucky that the case was still in its very early days, there was still plenty of hope that the boys would turn up, and as long as even a shred of that hope held on, she’d continue to search. 

She jumped when she heard a door slam. How long had she been standing there thinking? The house grew quiet and only a soft shuffle behind her let the ambassador know that Iris had returned to the living room.

“I’m going to assume that you weren’t able to calm him down?” she asked, turning to face her friend. Iris huffed and flopped down on the couch.

“No one can handle him when he goes into blind rage like this,” she admitted. “Usually we just let him do whatever until Pup comes back. Sorry that Rex had to be the one you met first,” Frisk frowned. 

“Does this happen often then?” she asked. “You guys just ignore him until he turns into someone more pleasant?” If that was the case, then Frisk guessed she could understand at least  _ some _ of Rex’s behaviors. He acted more like a rowdy teenage boy than a mature adult. The thought of that didn’t really sit too well with the monster princess. “That doesn’t sound very fair to Rex.” 

Maybe when this was all over she could-

“No Frisk, I know that look,” Iris interrupted her thoughts. “You can’t be everyone’s savior.” The monster ambassador pouted.

“That’s not what I was thinking,” she defended sullenly. “I know that I can’t help everyone, I’m not stupid.” Nevermind the fact that she’d already been forming a plan to get Rex to open up to her. She avoided Iris’ knowing stare.

“Right,” the other human smirked. “Still not ready for that conversation then. Whatever. Besides, it’s not like we haven’t tried you know. And no one’s tried harder to get to Rex than Viper and Blue. Nothing works and all Blue got out of it was Rex trying to strangle him during a fight.”

Frisk huffed and waved her off. “Fine then, we’ll deal with that when we come to it.” Iris rolled her eyes, knowing that once her friend got an idea, then there would be nothing stopping her from following through. 

“So, what do we do now? And where did Swapy go?” she asked instead. Frisked deflated slightly. Ah yes, the problem at hand. What the hell  _ was _ she supposed to do now?

“He ran out the front door about ten minutes ago,” she said. “Hand me my bag would you? I’m going to go check on him. I have an idea about how to get at least  _ one  _ of these damn beanpoles to talk to me. Why don’t you shoot Chara a text, ask where she’s at, and let her know the situation.” 

Iris nodded her head in consent and handed the ambassador her bag.

“I will, just promise me that you’re not running yourself into the ground over this,” she said. “We can’t afford to lose you too.” Frisk smiled at her.

“Don’t worry about me, Sweetheart,” she said, starting to walk toward where Swapy had fled. “I’m way too determined to let this tire me out.”

_ Swapy’s PoV _

The thick cloud of smoke floated above over his skull as he stood in front of the small car garage. He wasn’t even inhaling anyway, the smoldering stick simply hanging from his jaw as he stared off into the distance. He felt as if his soul was slowly cracking into tiny little shards. It hurt so badly, that it was a wonder that he hadn’t already Fallen Down. 

It was all his fault. Rex was right, he’d failed the only person he’d sworn to always protect.  _ “Big Brother’s gotcha…”  _ it was something that he’d always told Blue when he was at his lowest. That no matter what, he’d always be there to lift him up and support him. But now… now he was lost. He  _ knew _ Sans hadn’t been in the best mindset the past few months. He’d seen all of the signs and had done nothing. 

“...Mind if I join you?” came a soft voice directly beside him. The skeleton startled violently, nearly choking on his cigarette. He hadn’t heard Frisk come out of the house. He hastily tried to put it out. 

“Oh, don’t stop on my account,” The monster princess laughed. “It’d be a little hypocritical of me to judge you on your methods of destressing.” He was about to ask what she meant, when a cloud of sweet smelling smoke wafted toward him. He blinked and followed the smell and had to do a double take. Frisk was holding a slim, blue device to her plump lips. She grinned at his shocked expression and took a large hit off the vape. Swapy lifted a brow bone.

“I never would have pegged you as one of those, Princess,” he commented. Frisk shrugged and took another hit. She blew the resulting cloud of berry flavored vapor up into the air. “ Do your parents know what kind of antics their precious heir gets up to?” He was a little embarrassed at the way Frisk’s laughter brought a smile to his face. 

“What Goat Mom doesn’t know, won’t hurt her,” she chirped. Swapy chuckled and took a long drag of his own nicotine. He was already feeling a little better from exchanging just a few sentences with the human. They stood together in companionable silence for a few moments. Swapy was just about to fully relax when Frisk spoke up again. 

“You know, none of this is actually your fault, right?” she said. Swapy froze. Nope. He was not going to go back down that rabbit hole. He cleared his throat, fully prepared to deflect the princess but Frisk was apparently ready for such a thing. 

“Whatever Rex said, there’s no way either you or him could have predicted this would happen. None of us could have. Blue and Viper are fully autonomous adults who made their own decisions. But blaming ourselves or others isn’t going to bring them home any sooner.” Swapy didn’t respond, surprised at the wisdom behind the young woman’s words. He cursed when he suddenly dropped his cigarette. Christ, when had he started shaking so much?

“Hey, hey,” Frisk whispered soothingly, taking his hand as he fumbled for the pack in his pocket. “Calm down, Papyrus. Breathe.” He did; just barely.

“S-sorry,” he whimpered, finally managing to take a single stick from the box.

“It’s no trouble at all,” Frisk replied, moving away to give him space. “We’re all in this together. When one of us falls, it’s up the rest to support them.” The human smiled gently at him.

“I know that we don’t know each other very well, and maybe that’s on me, but I’m here now if you want to talk.” Swapy snorted as he lit up, trying to cover up his suffocating emotions.

“Thank you, Princess,” he choked out. “Is uh that the only reason you came out here?” Frisk’s smile turned sympathetic as she opened her arms to him. 

“I just figured you needed a friend right now.” she said. He hugged her as tears sprang into his eyes, unable to put into words just what that simple phrase meant to him.

_ Sunday 5:12 pm Blue’s PoV _

Opening his eyes was a chore that he did not really want to do. But the screaming was so loud that he couldn’t exactly ignore it.

“Viper?” he groaned. “Is that you?” What’s wrong?” He blinked open his eyes only to see that everything around him had gone completely grey. Fuzzy grey, like the world was now made of TV static. He sat up, looking around to try and figure out where the hell he was now. It looked like a cliffside, but hadn’t he just been on the porch with Viper and Axe? 

The ground and rocks around him were glitchy and monochrome. Everything was out of focus and just...wrong…

“Where the actual fuck am I?” he whispered to himself, still looking around. He reached up to check on his bandages. Maybe Viper had been right about his head. But there was nothing there. No bandage. No crack. This had to be another dream. The screaming was back. At least now he could actually see where the god awful noise was coming from. 

There was a girl sitting on the edge of the cliff. Where the hell had she come from? She hadn’t been there a second ago...had she?

“Um excuse me?” he asked awkwardly. “Are you alright? Do you know where we are?” The woman did not answer him. There was something familiar about her, like he was supposed to know her, but he was positive that he’d never met her before.

He cleared his throat and tried again. “You uh didn’t happen to see another guy around did you? Looks kinda like me but more like he raided a Hot Topic?” Again, she did not answer. At least she’d stopped screeching. 

“Hey, um can you hear me?” he asked, struggling to his feet. Where had his normal pleasant dreams gone? “I’d uh like to stay and talk, but I really need to get back to my friends before they do something dumb-” he made his way over to the young woman. He’d nearly gotten to her when she turned toward him instead. Blue stopped short, eyes wide in shock and horror. 

The woman’s face was a horrific sight. She was human… or rather, he thought that she had been at one point. 

Huge gaping bleeding holes where her eyes should have been; her mouth was open and twisted. Her long dark hair floated around her like a mourning veil, and her clothing, now that he could see them were dirty and ripped. Blue took a step back away from her.

“ _ As the stench of the Shadowman’s breath filled the air and the silence was broken once inch from my ear. As the Shadowman whispered, “My boy, I’m right here.” _

The woman’s face morphed and twisted and Blue could have sworn that for an instant he thought he saw his brother and then Viper again. He yelped and scrambled away from whatever the fuck this thing was. Was this the Skinwalker that Axe had told them about? 

“Stay away…” he gasped, tripping and falling back on the grey dirt. The youn- the  _ thing _ cackled dramatically.

“ _ You are too weak to fend me off, Boy, _ ” The woman was no longer a woman. In her place, a dark shadow began to emerge, writhing and swirling around. Blue screamed and batted at the inky tendrils that inched their way toward him. 

“ _ You will succumb to me, _ ” it hissed. “ _ And once you do, that other weakling will not be far behind. _ ” 

Blue stopped. A sudden rage filled him. Did this thing just  _ threaten _ his best friend? Nothing made the swap monster’s blood boil faster.

“Don’t you fucking touch him you peice of shit.” he cried. He wouldn’t be able to stand the guilt if this thing got its slimy hands on Viper. He shoved the black tentacles away from him roughly. 

“I don’t give a shit what you do to me, but I’ll be damned if I let you harm him, so you can just fuck right off, back to whatever hole you slithered out of.” This outburst gave the creature in front of him pause.

Blue swallowed thickly, realizing that it might not have been the best idea to yell at a being who could have easily destroyed him. Why now of all times did he have to lose his temper?

The shadow stared at him with blank soulless eyes and Blue had the sinking feeling that he was about to meet his end right there and then. To his amazement though, the Skinwalker only laughed darkly and began to withdraw. At the same time, Blue’s vision began to blur. Oh great, time to fucking pass out again.

“ _ You are a challenging one,”  _ it whispered as his sight went completely dark. “ _ Very well, we will continue our game. Let’s see just how long you can outlast me….” _

Ch/End

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ShadowMan by Kevin Mannis
> 
> Before anyone else yells at me, no there are no romance in this story. :) Sorry Swapy, Frisk is.... unavailable....
> 
> Coming up: A battle with a douchebag; Swapy loses a position he's worked so hard to achieve.  
See you next time my lovelies


	9. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue has an idea. It's not a good idea but it's an idea nonetheless. Viper is slowly losing his god damn mind. Swapy wishes they could get some good new for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 left :)
> 
> Anyone remember when this was meant to be a short fic for Halloween? Yeah me neither. 
> 
> Before you go any further, please be warned that Viper has some pretty big panic attacks in the beginning and there is some slightly graphic violence toward the end.

Chapter Nine:Confrontation

_ “If you step, he steps too _

_ If you touch, he is touching you _

_ If you turn a corner, it is you who follows you _

_ Turn around, guess who.”- The Theater, Timore _

  
  
  


_ Some day; at some point in time Viper’s PoV _

Viper lost track of how long he waited for Axe to return to the cabin. Blue had been passed out ever since the older skeleton had disappeared into the woods.

He tried to keep his mind occupied by arranging his best friend comfortably in front of the fireplace and pushing the ratty, tattered sofa in front of the battered wooden door. He tried his best to ignore the howling that still echoed and rattled the walls around him.

With shaking bones, he attempted to tidy up their meagre belongings and threw a couple more logs on the dying fire. He inhaled slowly, watching the blue-white flames lick at the logs as they burned (thank the gods Axe had thought to actually chop up some of the fallen branches while Viper had been busy arguing with the hunk of orange metal out front). He even checked over Blue’s bandages to make sure his head was healing.

He’d done all of this two or three times before finally conceding that there was nothing else for him to do besides wait and as the sun started a slow descent behind the tree line he sat down next to his sleeping friend. 

The wind had quieted, which Viper guessed was a relief. But the quiet felt… fake...like he was being coax into a false sense of security, waiting for him to drop his guard before striking. The young monster couldn’t deny that he was afraid, but it was a different kind of fear than what he was used to. The kind that had his soul drowning in anxiety and him feeling utterly hopeless. Like there was nothing worth him staying alive for…

He shook his head violently, dislodging the dark thoughts from his mind. How long had they been out here anyway? Surely, it was past the time they were expected back home… right? And they hadn't been able to contact anyone for the last day and a half. Surely, Swapy, the ever present over protective doting elder brother was getting antsy for at least Blue’s return. He fidgeted with the phone trapped inside his pocket, tempted to try and call Pup. But what would be the point? He had no cell service out here.

He sniffed, and wiped at the tears that threatened to fall as he continued to weigh his options. The silence of the evening bore down on him relentlessly. Blue whimpered beside him. Without thinking, he placed a hand on the other’s shoulder in an attempt to soothe him, like he’d done many times in the past with Pup. Blue settled almost instantly at the familiar touch and snuffled lightly into his blanket. Viper huffed and shook his head fondly, wiping his eyes again.

It couldn’t have been more than 10 mins later, just as Viper was beginning to calm down, a loud bang sounded from behind him. He jumped and let out a loud yelp. That had to be the house settling. That’s all. Just the old creaky foundation shifting around-

Another loud knock sounded. Viper froze. Nope. No. Uh uh. He was just going to ignore that. He swallowed when another set of knocking came. The shivering monster shut his eyes and clutched onto Blue’s shoulder. 

“VIPER?” The voice was booming in the near silent room. The swapfell monster trembled. It wasn’t the fact that the voice was loud that sent the cold terror down his spine. It was the fact that it was Blue’s voice, screaming at him, even though he was laying right next to him…

“VIPER COME OUT HERE.” It was closer now. Just outside the broken window. “I CAN SEE YOU.” Fuck no. Just no. He shook his head, trying to block the sound out. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t his best friend. It banged on the door again, angrily and impatient. 

“VIPER. COME OUT HERE!” Viper’s breath became shallower by the second as he let out a broken sob. He buried his hands in the blanket and practically dragged his best friend into his lap, if only to assure himself that Blue was indeed in this cabin with him and not outside. He buried his face in the crook between Blue’s neck and shoulder, praying for the horrifying yelling and pounding to stop.

“VIPER! VIPER! COME OUT HERE!”

“No, shut up, shut up,” he muttered, now grabbing fistfuls of blanket wrapped around Blue’s comatose form and yanking it off. His brain was in overdrive, breaking down and decaying until the only thoughts he was able to form were that he wanted Blue to wake up and that he wanted his older brother. It wasn’t even Pup that he was begging for. Well, not  _ just _ Pup. What he wanted was the brother who’d protected him all throughout his childhood and dried his tears when he was scared. 

Gods, he was so pathetic. A fucking failure and a disappointment; Blue had been right. One small scare, the equivalent of walking through a halloween haunted house, and he dissolved into a goopy puddle of anxiety. Tears leaked from his clenched eye lights as he frantically told himself to breathe. Just breathe Just  _ fucking breathe _ goddamit. 

But it doesn’t get any easier. He choked back another pained whimper, whispering Rex’s name, Blue’s name, hell he even cried out for  _ Swapy _ to come and save them. 

A few minutes of panicked weeping while voices screeched and called to him until finally he managed to steal his nerves once more. He wasn’t some stupid babybones who needed someone to come protect him. He could handle this. He could handle himself.

He hadn’t even noticed that the activity outside had all but ceased, as he concentrated on his breathing. In. Out. In. Out. He gulped down much needed oxygen, taking in Blue’s scent. Just as he was starting to feel more like himself, he felt arms wrap themselves around his middle.

He screamed in terror and struggled to pull away. A firm hand on the back of his skull pushed him back against his best friend. 

“Shh, shh, Viper,” Blue’s calm tone soothed. Above him; not outside, not demanding or angry. Right in front of him. “It’s me. I’m here, right here with you.” Viper released a relieved groan and clamped onto him. At least one of his prayers had been answered. 

“It’s okay,” Blue continued to murmur into his skull. “It’s gone for now. You’re safe, I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” Viper just barely managed to stop himself from hyperventilating as he sank into Blue’s embrace, weeping in relief that he wasn’t alone anymore. So what if it made him sound like a child?

When he finally,  _ finally _ dissolved into wet stuffed up sniffles. He pulled away from his friend and wiped his nose and eye lights. Blue let him go, sitting back with his legs underneath his body. He watched as the other took a few moments to compose himself, before pulling the blanket from his shoulders and offering it to Viper.

“Here,” he said. Viper took it from him with a confused stare. “You should get some rest, two huge panic attacks in one day takes a toll on you, believe me.” Viper glared sharply at him. Okay, yeah he was fucking exhausted, but he’d worked through worse things. They still didn’t know where Axe was at or how the hell they were supposed to get out of this mess. There was no way that he was going to be able to sleep right now. Blue seemed to understand as he sighed and placed a hand back on Viper’s shoulder.

“Look,” he said. “I know what you’re thinking right now, and I want to figure this out as much as you do, but you're running on fumes right now. I’ll stay up and keep watch while you sleep, but you  _ have _ to get some rest, Viper. We can talk more about what to do in the morning and hopefully Axe will be back from wherever he fucked off to this time.” 

It made sense. Viper  _ knew _ that it made sense but the little stubborn part of him refused to give in. He fiddled with the blanket , eyes downcast. He just couldn’t shake the disquiet from his soul after the last attack. 

“I-I don’t t-think I-I can,” he stuttered out, sounding weak even to his own nonexistent ears. Blue sighed again, pulling him closer until somehow, Viper found himself laying down with his skull resting on Blue’s femur. He shifted so that he could look up at his friend. A question on his lips. Blue rolled his eyes and shifted so that Viper had a bigger “pillow” to lay on. 

“Not a damn word, Grandma,” he grumbled, leaning back on his hands. “Paps used to do this with me when I had a nightmare back Underground. Something about physical touch or whatever.”

Viper only nodded, too tired to argue any longer. It did help. The warmth that he could feel radiating from the other quieted his own pounding soul so he curled up and let his eyes shut, drifting off into what he hoped would be dreamless sleep.

  
  


~ ~ ~

  
  


_ Wednesday 3:14pm Swapy’s PoV _

By the time he and Frisk reentered the Swapfell house, Swapy was feeling much more level headed. The young ambassador was easy to talk to or maybe Swapy just never realized how much he needed to unload some of the darker thoughts that rested in his soul.

Whatever the case, he was feeling slightly better when he walked into the kitchen for the second time. Iris was sitting at the table with Frisk’s tablet propped up in front of her, scrolling through something on the device with a look of concentration on her face. 

From behind him, Frisk sang out a greeting and asked if she got her message. The other human hummed in response and didn’t look up from her task. 

“Chara said she managed to convince him so they’re headed over, she said they’d try and look for Rex on their way too,” Frisk walked over to her. Swapy tried to ignore the way his soul beat picked up when she bent over to see what Iris was working on, her pretty brown eyes scanning the screen as well… No, stop that brain. Absolutely not going down that road. Now was so not the time, Soul, Jesus. Frisk was probably already seeing someone, if Chara could be believed…

“-py?” The older monster blinked himself out of his thoughts at the sound of Iris’ voice calling him. He shot the two girls his best grin and a wink. 

“You say something Kiddo?” he asked walking over and sitting down across from them. Iris rolled her eyes at him. Frisk was still staring at her screen. 

“You don’t happen to know what Blue’s Instagram password is do you?” she asked. “A friend of mine who works for the FBI said that searching through his social media could give us a location of where to start looking. And I was thinking that we could narrow it down even further if we could get a look at what he was about to or trying to post before he went out of range.” Swapy blinked. Damn this girl was smart. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? His brother was practically addicted to that stupid site. There was bound to be something on it that they could use. 

“That’s a big invasion of my little bro’s privacy,” he joked. “What makes you think I even have access to that info? He’s pretty private about that kind of thing.” Of course he knew the password. He’d never say exactly how he’d gotten a hold of said information. Both girls stared at him with unimpressed looks. He chuckled lightly.

“Alright, I give,” he said. “Pass that thing over here,” Frisk handed him the device so that he could input the password. He tied hard to not look at the amounts of selfies of his little brother grinning happily. It hurt too much to see that smile when he didn’t know the next time (or even  _ if _ ) he would see him again. He handed it back quickly. 

“Should we be telling the authorities about this though?” he mumbled. “ It seems like it could be helpful for them.” Frisk scoffed, scrolling through Blue’s newly loaded profile. 

“I wouldn’t trust the police around here as far as I could throw them,” she muttered darkly. Iris nodded her head in agreement. Swapy couldn’t bring himself to ask them to elaborate. He didn’t think he’d like the answer.

“Besides,” Frisk continued giving him a false cheerful smile. Swapy didn’t like it. “ as Ambassador to Monsterkind and the daughter of the king, I have certain privileges. One of which happens to be taking jurisdiction over major crimes in the monster community.” 

Their conversation faded into silence for a while so that the young princess could work. Swapy sighed heavily and looked around the kitchen. God he was itching for another cigarette. He looked back over when Frisk made a curious hum. 

“You find something?” he asked, leaning forward. Frisk looked up from the tablet with a puzzled expression. 

“Maybe,” she said. “ Besides the fact that your brother seems to be really interested in the occult and horror blogs, there are a bunch of messages from about three years between him and a someone named Shay_folktales.” Swapy nodded. He always did wonder about Sans’ strange obsession with creepy stories and items and had often expressed concern over some of the things he did. But he’d never heard of the person he’d apparently been exchanging messages with.

“They appear to be about different haunted and abandoned places around the U.S” She continued. “There’s even talk about them doing a collaboration of sorts but at the last minute Shay cancelled.”

“So? Do we send this Shay a message or something?” he prompted. “Ask them if they know anything about where they might have gone?” His soul sank when Frisk’s face fell. 

“That’s just it,” she explained. “I can’t find this person anywhere. I checked their profile but they don’t seem to have actually been active on Instagram for the past three years. And I checked for any other social media presence they might have. The only place that might be her, is a tumblr blog about folktales and strange creatures. But even that hasn’t been updated since 2016.” Iris took the IPad from her as Frisk went to pull out her phone and dialed a number. 

“How is that possible?” Iris asked scrolling through the string of messages. Frisk didn’t answer right away as she lifted the phone to her ear. Swapy was equally confused. He supposed that it could have been a coincidence or bug in the algorithm but something about it just didn’t sit right with him. 

“Yeah, Hi,” Frisk said into her mouthpiece. “I need you to work your magic and find me the name of the person who runs the blog  _ Shay’s folktale Corner.  _ They may go by the username  _ Shay_Folktale _ too.” She paused and waited for a second. 

“Shay McWilliams?” she said. “Why does that same sound familiar? Wait…  _ That’s  _ the girl? Holy fuck. Yeah thanks, no, no this is great. Yeah, we’ll catch up when I get back to the capitol. Tell Luke I said hi.” 

The ambassador hung and frowned at her companions. Iris raised an eyebrow at her. 

“That’s the face of someone who just got not so great news,” she said. Frisk sighed and dropped her phone on the table and placed her head in her hands and groaned. 

That … was not encouraging. “You okay there Frisk?” Swapy asked nervously. The original human looked up at him with a tight smile and the older monster absolutely knew that he was not going to like whatever came out of her mouth next.

“You may want to pull out your box of cigarettes,” she started. “ Cassie says that the girl your brother’s been talking to is currently incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital in California with no access to the internet and has been there of the past three.”

Yeah, Swapy didn’t think there was enough nicotine in any of the universes to make what she said any better...

  
  


_ The Next Morning: Wednesday Blue’s PoV _

He spent the next few hours switching between watching his best friend sleep and watching the night slowly fade back into day. He’d let the fire dwindle down into a bleak smolder. It made the cabin colder sure, but he didn’t want to leave Viper to add more wood, despite the fact that the other monster was now laying next to him instead of in his lap.

The air around the cabin felt better somehow, cleaner and less heavy. On a hunch he’d managed to squirrel Viper’s phone out of his pocket without waking the other up. He wasn’t too worried about it though, considering how exhausted he knew Viper was. 

He swiftly unlocked the phone but he wasn’t checking for notifications or messages, although he was extremely surprised that the device still had any power left. He stared at the time that flashed in large white type across the screen. 

7:14; Wed Oct 20

Five days. He closed his eyes against the weariness in his soul. They’d been stuck out here for five days. No wonder their magic wasn’t working correctly. They hadn’t had a proper meal since Saturday. At least they knew what they were up against…. Sort of…. 

Blue had heard of skinwalkers before but the internet was split in how to kill them. Some said you needed to know the true name of the witch who had become the skinwalker. He didn’t even have a guess as to what that might even be. Others said that you needed to use ash and sage to banish them. Right, the ash would be simple enough, they had an entire fireplace full of hte stuff, but where the hell was he supposed to get sage? If he’d been smart, he would have put that on his fucking shopping list when he decided to come out to a fucking  _ haunted cabin _ . 

He absently watched the rise and fall of Viper’s ribcage as he thought about what he could do to get his best friend out of here. He’d gotten him into this and there was no way in hell that he was going to let some supernatural beast from hell hurt him any more than he already had. 

The sun was just starting to peek out over the tree line outside, Viper groaned and curled up tighter under his blanket as the light hit his eyes. Blue chuckled and poked at his skull, waking the other skeleton up further.

“Go ‘way, Paps,” he growled. Blue snickered and poked him again. 

“Wakey, wakey, Grandma,” he murmured. “The earth rose just for you.” Viper grumbled again and curled up tighter, trying to hide under the blanket this time. 

“Bullshit,” he said. Blue was laughing silently. He’d never seen his best friend right when he first woke up. Viper was usually up way before him. 

“C’mon Viper,” he tried again, in between his giggles. “I think I have a plan to get us out of here.” Ah, finally, that got his attention. Viper blinked open his eyes and immediately shut them again, whimpering at the bright light from the window.

“Ugh,” he moaned, pulling his arm from his cocoon and using it to cover his eyes. “You couldn’t have warned me?” Blue laughed out loud, moving away slowly so that Viper could sit up. 

“Sorry, I didn’t think about it,” he snickered. Viper sighed and rubbed at his eye lights. He let out a yawn, continuing to wake up.

“Great thanks, what were you saying about a plan?” Blue stretched out his spine and stood up wincing at popping in his joints. He walked over to the packs they kept their food in and knelt down to dig around for the coffee he was sure was in there. 

“Yeah, you’re probably not going to like it,” he admitted “But the sack of shit is gone for now. You should also checkyour phone, though I doubt it’ll make you feel any better.” He heard rustling behind him, presumably Viper grabbing his phone. He made a noise of triumph as he pulled out the plastic container of instant coffee, a couple water bottles and two small tin camping mugs.

“Caffeine first,” he explained, walking back over to Viper who was staring at his phone in disbelief. “Good ideas after.” Viper didn’t look up from his phone. Blue couldn’t really blame him. It was pretty jarring to think about just how much time they’d lost.

“They have to be looking for us...right?” he whispered, more to himself than anything. “Our brothers? Our friends? They wouldn’t just leave us out here right?” Oddly enough Blue felt pretty calm. He wanted to freak out. Like he  _ really really _ wanted to freak out but Viper needed him to keep it together. Chara had called it  _ ‘The Mom Friend Override’, _ or some shit.

“It’s been three days since we were supposed to go home.” he said, pouring water into the mugs and setting them near the still warm ember to heat them up. 

“You’ve met our brothers right?” he asked. “I’m pretty sure they’re scouring this entire park,” Viper made a sound behind him. A cross between a whimper and a moan.

“We haven’t seen anyone since Saturday, though.” he said weakly. Blue hummed in response, checking the temperature of the water with his finger. 

“Axe said that the Skinwalker might be able to control time and considering that until a few hours ago I thought that it was still Sunday, I think he might be on to something.” A few minutes of silence later and Blue was dumping grounds of instant coffee into their mugs, stirring with his finger because he hadn’t bothered to grab a spoon. He picked up the mugs, turned, and made his way back to sit next to Viper. It wasn’t hot but it would do for now. 

He handed one of the mugs off as Viper wiped his eyes. The swapfell skeleton murmured a small thanks and huddled inside his blanket. 

“This sucks,” he said after a while. He stared out the window, glaring at the broken pane as if it were the cause of all of their problems.

“You said you had an idea that could help?” Viper prompted. The coffee helped some but he’d feel better if they had an actual plan. “We still don’t know where Axe went either.” Blue nodded and sipped at his tepid coffee. 

“Yeah, I was thinking about that,” he said. “I think I know of a way we can kill two birds with one stone though.” He glanced over at his best friend who looked smaller than he’d ever seen him and tried to control the white hot burst of fury that hit his soul. 

“How would you feel about taking a hike?”

_ 8:37 am Viper’s PoV _

He stared at his best friend and blinked. What? “How exactly is that going to help? And Axe told us not to leave the cabin.” he asked.

Blue shrugged and took a drink out of his mug. Viper couldn’t help but think that even though he looked tired, it served to make him look even more stern and serious. Blue was usually playful and witty; to see him like this was comforting in a way.

“I’m tired of just waiting around here like a sitting duck.” He explained. “If this fucker is leaving us alone for now, I want to take advantage of it. The ranger’s station can’t be more than a few hours hike from here. If we leave now, we can make it there by this afternoon. We’re bound to see other campers or rangers now and maybe there’s still a search party out there we can meet up with.” His friend finished with a flourish and made to stand up. He held a hand out to Viper and gave him a small grin.

“What do you say, Grandma? Want to go kick some supernatural ass?” Viper grinned back, feeling more like himself and eagerly took the offered hand. 

“Fuck yeah, I do.” he said. 

_ 10: 37 am (time start) _

They’d been walking for awhile now. Crunching through the wet, dead, leaves was nerve wracking. Despite the bright sunny warm day, Viper was on high alert, his senses dialed to an 11 and he twitched at every single twig snap or tweeting bird. 

Viper kept a close watch on his cellphone clock. Before slinging on their packs, filled with food and water and fully dousing the fire, they agreed that they would make a note of the time they left so that they would know if they lost time again. They’d left the cabin at 8: 07 and it looked like time was flowing normally. But how would they even know if they reentered its “ _ sphere of influence” _ as Blue called it? Would time just suddenly stop? Would they feel any different than how they did now? All of these questions and more were running through his mind as he followed closely behind his friend.

Blue was a man on a mission, stalking through the trees with purpose. He was tired, hungry and hurting. He didn’t know why this sack of shit had decided to torment him and his friends but nothing pissed the swap skeleton off faster than a bully and that was exactly what this skinwalker was. Nothing but a bully who seemed to get its kicks out of scaring and hurting those it thought was weaker than it. Well, Blue wasn’t going to let himself be intimidated by it any longer.

The longer they walked, the heavier the atmosphere around them got. They hadn’t seen any other person but he wasn’t about to let that deter them. They had to be getting closer to the Ranger’s station. Or at least an outpost. There was no way the trails were  _ this _ long.

An opening in the trees just ahead caught his attention.. There. They needed to go there. Even if there wasn’t a damn thing, they could at least get their bearings, rest and adjust their direction.

“I think there’s a clearing up ahead,” he said over his shoulder. Viper perked up behind him. Their pace quickened as they neared the small opening. It was indeed a small clearing. The sun beamed down in the middle where pretty yellow flowers dotted the spotty patches of grass along the ground. The boys stepped into the light and breathed in deeply. 

It was almost peaceful. 

“How much further until we get to the station?” Viper asked, walking around the clearing and taking it all in. 

Blue shrugged and took off his backpack, stretching out his shoulder and rubbing out the stiffness that came with carrying a heavy object. By his estimate, they’d be walking for at least two hours. Without any data, he wouldn’t be able to check his maps app to see exactly where they were at or how far they had to go. 

“I don’t know, but we have to be getting close.” he said, lifting his face toward the warmth of the sun and closing his eyes. He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked over to see Viper offering him a water bottle. Blue took it gladly. The two relaxed for just a bit. 

He wouldn’t be able to tell anyone why but blamed it on growing up in a marginally dangerous universe, Viper suddenly felt a sense of urgency run down his spine. He froze, moving closer to his best friend and scanned the trees surrounding them. No no no. Not again. He frantically pulled out his phone to check the time. It was 10:37…. His breathing grew heavier. No. He’d checked just before they’d entered the clearing. It was 10:37 then….. fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck….

“...Viper?” Blue voice sounded far away, even though he was standing right next to him. Wasn’t he? He spun around to face his best friend, eyelight wide with fear and thrust his phone at the other.

“It’s here…” he gasped out, shaking. 

Blue stared at the phone in disbelief. It couldn’t be. What the fuck. What the ever living  _ fuck _ . They were so fucking close! They both jumped at the sound of a crunch that was right behind them. Turning, they spied a lone figure stalking toward them. It looked familiar….

“Axe?” Viper called out cautiously. The hunched figure now in front of them took a single staggering step forward. Blue grabbed Viper’s arm tightly and pushed him slightly behind him. His best friend made an offended noise and pulled away. Something wasn’t right. Axe may have been a creepy bastard, but he never looked this...wrong… and was it his imagination or had the clearing grown darker over the last few seconds?

Viper cleared his throat and tried again. “Axe? Are you okay? We haven’t seen you for a while….” Blue suddenly gagged beside him. It took a second for Viper to realize why. It was in the air. The earthly scent of a rotting corpse…. He took a step back.

Oh.

Fucking.

Hell.

The wind picked up around them, blowing their jackets against them and making their eyes water from the intensity of it.

“We need to get out of here,” Blue shouted over the gusts. He didn’t have to tell him twice. This had been a mistake. They never should have left... Before either of them could even attempt to move, the Not-Axe in front of them let out a blood curdling scream that nearly made their ears bleed and disappeared in what appeared to be a ghastly amount of black shadows…

The two friends stood back to back in the clearing. Dark clouds suddenly blacking the sun above them. The wind howled and the trees groaned around them as they scanned around them, frantic for a sign of their foe. This wasn’t like any battle they’d been in in the past. The skinwalker didn’t play by monster rules and they had absolutely no idea what to expect. 

Screeching laughter sounded all around them, mocking them as they trembled in the middle of the darkened clearing pressed up against one another. 

Both tried to summon their weapons. Both had no success. They’d had little to no food the last three days, they had no magic left to spare.

_ “LITTLE MOTH, COME CLOSER TO THE FLAME!”  _ The voice was a young woman’s that Viper didn’t recognize. He felt Blue flinch behind him. Wait… had this been the woman he’d heard earlier? Had it been the skinwalker the whole time?! Just how long had it been toying with them?!

“Shut the fuck up, you fucker!” he screamed out. “Leave us alone!” It laughed again.

“ _ FILTHY FUCKING LITTLE FLY.”  _ it now sounded exactly like Blue. “ _ BELIEVING YOU HAVE A CHOICE.” _

“You heard him,” Blue from behind him. “You wanna fight?! Come out and face us, yourself!” The skinwalker laughed again, haunting. It was everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Suddenly, just as soon as it started, it was gone. The wind disappeared. The sun returned. Everything was calm. They stood there, unwilling to drop their guard. It couldn’t have been that easy...

_ “Foolish child.”  _ The voice. Axe. Close. Right behind Viper. In front of Blue. Viper flipped around as quickly as he could as he heard his friend gasp. He turned just in time to see what had caused the Swap monster to gasp. 

This time, he physically felt time slow down and he watched in horror as an inky, shadow like appendage whipped across Blue face, blacking out his left eye completely as blood spurted into the air.

“BLUE!”

  
  


Ch/end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished this at 2:45 in the morning :') Today we learned that Liz is bad at writing action sequences...
> 
> you all can come scream at me on: https://history-fanatic-4-ever.tumblr.com/
> 
> We're nearing the end my darlings :)


	10. RECAP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Herein lies the true timeline of events thus far.
> 
> Italicized sections are video and audio clips

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

Chapter 10: RECAP!!

_ Wednesday 5pm _ Chara’s PoV

There were a million things that she’d rather be doing sitting silently in the passenger seat of a bright red convertible, next to the most stoic skeleton she’d ever met. In her hands, she clutched onto a thick manilla folder and under her feet rested a white box labeled ‘_ Evidence/ Sans Gaster’. _ She was surprised when she’d seen a tall police officer with flaming red hair running at full speed down the sidewalk. 

Frisk’s Undyne had gladly unloaded her burden on them in favor of taking a break to see her girlfriend, having full confidence that the monster ambassador knew what she was doing. Chara wasn’t so sure. 

She trusted Frisk, of course she did. The original human never did anything without a specific reason. She just didn’t see how this plan was supposed to work. She’d tried to explain that Edge and Swapy got along like a fucking house on fire but Frisk was adament that the Fell monster would be a important key to bringing Viper and Blue home. She was therefore incredibly shocked when the proud Fell monster agreed so quickly. Frisk must have already gotten to him because it appeared that Edge had been waiting for her when she arrived earlier that afternoon. 

All they had left to do before delivinger their goods was to find Rex. Neither of them were quite looking forward to seeing the grouchy skeleton. Especially, if as Frisk had said and he was in a temper right now. Chara didn’t know if Edge had ever met his older counterpart. And quite frankly with what had happened between Rex and Red, she wasn’t sure she really wanted to see it. Chara exhaled in exhaustion and looked out the window of the car. 

As they pulled to a stop at a red light about a mile from their destination, the young woman spotted said skeleton skulking through the throngs of people on their way home from work or to dinner. 

“Speak of the devil,” she said and signaled for her companion to look. “Guess not even a rage filled twat can escape rush hour.” Edge nodded stiffly maneuvering to park along the sidewalk. Chara leaned out of her window and called to the Swapfell monster.

“REX GASTER,” she yelled. “GET IN THIS GODDAMN CAR BEFORE I DRAG YOU IN!” The older man jumped and looked up to see who had yelled at him, a deadly glare in his orange eyelights. 

He frowned when he saw who it was and flipped the human off. Others rushed around him as the skeleton stared at the others.

“What the fuck do you want?” he spat. Chara rolled her eyes.

“Her highness asked us to bring you back, no matter how distasteful your attitude.” Edge interrupted her. “Now either get in the car or you can walk. I don’t care what, but you’re not going to embarrass me in front of the princess.”

Rex paused at the mention of Frisk, then scowled even further. “Who the fuck are you, Asshole?” Edge scoffed as Chara tensed. Welp, looks like she was going to get to see not one but _ two _ raging skeletons. 

“There’ll be plenty of time for introductions later boys,” she said hurriedly. “Just get in please? He’s here because Frisk asked him to come. Can we just leave it at that? We’ve wasted enough time as it is.” Rex huffed and stalked over to the car, pushing roughly past the pedestrians around him in the cooling evening air. 

He stared down at the other skeleton who only gazed coolly back at him, unafraid of the supposed threat. Chara looked between them nervously. 

“W-would you just get in?” she stuttered. “This stupid testoterone war isn’t helping to find Viper or Blue. So can we please just stop this?” After a moment, Rex turned his eyes from them and leapt into the back seat of the convertible without another word. Chara just hoped they could make to Rex’s house before Edge fucking killed him. 

_ 6:01 pm The Swapfell household _

By the time the red vehicle pulled into the driveway, the young monster ambassador had made several phone calls and sent more than just a few emails. 

Iris and Swapy watched her with nervous trepidation. She hadn’t stopped to explain since Cassie had told her that the person Blue had exchanged messages with had been the sole survivor of what she suspected was another attack by the same Skinwalker nearly three years prior. 

Finally she slumped into her seat and groaned into her hands just as the trio walked in, carrying their spoils. 

  
“Well, that’s an encouraging site,” Chara said, setting the box she carried on the table in front them. Iris smiled sadly at her, and offered the newcomers something to drink; pointedly pushing a can of beer toward Rex.The swapfell monster eagerly took the alcohol and disappeared into the living room. Swapy raised an eyebrow as Edge walked in behind them, standing tall and aloof.

“And what brings Captain Stick Up his Ass, around?” he asked lazily, stretching out. He eyed both of his counterparts warily. Edge grunted. Things had calmed down between the two of them ever since the fell skeleton had helped his younger brother through a panic attack last month. They still didn’t care for one another, but Swapy had stopped going out of his way to antagonize the other as a sort of thank you. Still, he was slightly confused as to why the other was here. He assumed that this was the errand that Frisk had sent Chara on, but why this skeleton?

“Frisk seemed to think that my services could be useful.” Edge said calmly, sitting next to him, and tracing the lip of the cup he’d been given. Frisk looked up from her hands and gave them both a tired glare. 

“Do _ not _ start,” she said sternly. Swapy averted his eyes, cowed by her stare. She sighed and stood up. The sun was sinking slowly, casting eerie shadows through the window.

“Wait,” Iris spoke up. “I thought that Undyne was supposed to be bringing the case files and stuff? How the hell did you get it?’ Edge chuckled and took a sip of his water. 

“Frisk’s Undyne is nearly as enthusiastic as my own. We took it off her hands so she wasn’t tempted to run the whole way here.” Frisk nodded, completely unsurprised at her friend’s actions. 

“Well, we’re all here now,” she said. “Shall we see what the mighty search team recovered yesterday shall we?” She pulled the box toward her and flipped open the lid. Methodically, she pulled out several items. As she placed them on the table, Chara spread them out so that they were visible to the whole table. A tattered tent, two oversized canvas backpacks, all of the items labelled and put back inside (snack foods, a folded up tripod, flash lights, a small satellite radio gps and a pair of two way radios). There were also two sets of gloves with the tags still on them. There was a note attached to the lighter blue pack that had Swapy gasping. The final thing that the Monster princess pulled from the box was a single Ziploc bag with a cracked blue iPhone inside. 

The sight of the phone made Swapy and Chara gasp in unison. Frisk looked up at them. Chara had a hand pressed up against her mouth, her eyes wide in concern. Swapy was biting at his lower jaw. 

“I take it, you recognize the phone then. Chara wiped her eyes and nodded, her hands clenching Swapy’s shoulders. 

“It’s definitely my brother’s,” Swapy choked out. Frisk nodded solemnly and opened the bag. 

“I have an idea,” she said, taking the phone out and examining it. Swapy fought the urge to snatch the device out of her hands. A piece of his little brother was just within his grasp and he wanted it so badly. “If they went out there to film, then there’s probably some uncut footage on this that could help narrow down a location. Iris, if you can get me an extra power cord and a laptop, I think I can rig it so that we can look at them.” The swapfell human nodded eagerly and stood up. 

“I can set you up in the living room,” she said, walking out to go upstairs. “There will be more room for all of us out there.” 

_ 7:12 pm Swapfell Household _

  
  


The group gathered around the coffee table. Iris, Edge and sulking Rex, took the couch while Frisk, Swapy and Chara took the floor in front of them so that the ambassador could press play or stop on the laptop. Beside them on the table was a map of the park with locations marked on it. Each location was a supposed spot where an item had been found. 

“Okay, before we start,” Frisk said with her hand hovering over the start button of the first video. “I’m not sure what we’re going to see in these. They could be nothing but regular video or we could be watching some real Blair Witch shit-”

“Just fucking start the thing already,” Rex snapped. Iris nudged him gently. The older monster scoffed and crossed his arms over his rib cage. Frisk inhaled slowly. It was like a bandaid, she reasoned. The faster they got through this, the faster they could put the second part of her plan into motion.

“Whenever you are ready, Princess,” Edge said, retaining his calm demeanor. Swapy nodded silently next to her. Well, it was now or never. Steeling herself, Frisk pressed the button. 

(Saturday, 10:45am) 

The video began with the two young skeletons inside of Swapy’s car, driving down a gravel road. They were both smiling and joking with one another. Viper was in the driver’s seat. Blue was next to him, saying his intro for his channel. Their hopeful looks hurt the souls of everyone who was watching, but none more so than their older brothers. Swapy even reached out a hand toward the screen wistfully. Frisk took his other hand and squeezed. Hoping that someone was offering Rex the same comfort behind them.

_ “The whole story starts as you might expect. With the resettlement of the native people. The guy in charge of the resettlement was a real nasty asshole who basically treated the natives there like complete garbage.” _

_ “Well as you can probably imagine, the people didn’t really agree with the way they were being treated and there was a whole uprising led by their chief. They fought against their oppressors and managed to kill or defeat a lot of the soldiers.” _ Blue paused dramatically, gazing soberly into the camera, the lighting that reflected off of the falling snow casting an eerie shadow over his face. 

_ “The chief was ultimately caught and the rebellion was put down. The captain ordered him to be banished into the surrounding forests where it was assumed that the elements would kill him, given that it was close to winter. Anyone who was caught helping him would face execution by hanging.” _

_ “Is this where the fun part starts?” _Viper asked sarcastically off screen. Blue snorted.

“Oh? We weren’t having fun before?” Iris commented, rolling her eyes. “I just bet all those poor people being killed and oppressed are having so much fun.” The rest of the group made sounds of agreement, especially those who knew first hand how cruel humanity could actually be. Frisk rewound the video a few seconds to where they missed and hit play.

Blue was still chuckled as he continued explaining the background of the region._ “ANYWAY, the local legend says that the chief was a practitioner of the dark arts and he vowed to get revenge on the soldiers who murdered his people and stole their land. Which in my experience is an entirely acceptable response.” _

Frisk paused once again and turned to Chara, “Would you look up which tribe was the prominent in the area around the 1700’s through the 1800’s? We might be able to see if this legend has any merit considering the only way to create a skinwalker is through really dark magic in the first place.” Chara nodded and pulled out her phone to do just that.

“Awesome, Edge-”

“Already noted, Princess.” The ambassador shot the fell skeleton a smile. 

“Thank you,” she said, hitting play. 

_ “As the story goes, he placed a kind of curse on the land and said that anyone who tried to settle on his people’s lands would suffer a fate worse than death. The captain wrote the chief’s words as the ramblings of a mad man and proceeded to banish the man to the woods. _

_ “Oh yes, let’s just ignore a person who is clearly versed in dark magic.” Viper commented. Blue shook his head. _

_ “Classic movie mistake.” he said. “Top ten no so sad deaths.” Viper laughed while his friend continued. _

_ “So things really started going wrong that winter, when several children of the banished chief’s very own tribe mysteriously disappeared. The tribe believed it was the work of the curse and formed another rebellion against the settlers and this time, they won. The soldiers were forced to flee and the Native Americans hoped that this would quell the curse. _

_ However the very next winter, they were proven wrong when even more children vanished. Ultimately the land was abandoned in the early 1800’s.” _ The video shuffled a bit while the young monster switched from face view to standard and they watched as they proceeded down the dirt and gravel road, clusters of oak and maple trees combined with untended undergrowth grew intertwined through shambling remains as snow gently floated down from the gray cloudy sky. It was beautiful in a tragic sort of way. And considering all of the sadness that had happened in the area, it was fitting. Blue spoke again while the scenery flew by the windows.

_ “The land remained peacefully empty until 50 years ago when the state converted it into Ebbot National State Park and the people started flooding back. It wasn’t long before strange incidents started cropping up every few years. The supposed drowning of nineteen year old Eliza Murphy was one of these strange events. The teen was a champion college swimmer and had gone camping with her parents for the weekend. The morning of her disappearance, she’d gone to swim laps in one of the small lakes near their campsite. In front of like 11 eyewitnesses, the girl was pulled into the water by what some said was a ghostly hand. Her body has never been recovered.” _

_ “It sounds just like your typical family vacation,” Viper chimed in with a grin. Blue grinned back at him. _ _   
  
_

_ “Oh right, Eliza comes home from class one day, “Hey mom, dad, heard about this haunted lake downtown and wanted to see if I could fight the ghost inside, wanna come watch?” Viper laughed along with him. _

_ “Isn’t that what I’m doing right now with you?” he asked” _Frisk paused in the middle of Blue blowing a raspberry at his friend. She shook her head with a small smile on her face. 

“It’s easy to see why he’s so popular online,” She said. “He’s got such a dynamic and engaging personality. And he and Viper play off each other so well, they really make a great duo.” Both of their older brothers smiled proudly. Well Swapy was smiling proudly. Rex's mouth only made a small twitch at the corners at her words. 

“It...helps him…Instagraming and Youtubing.” Chara admitted. “So does Viper, although Blue would probably never admit to that in a million years” Frisk nodded in approval, turning back around and hitting play again. 

_ “Most recently, there was a young boy who disappeared from the site he’d been camping at with his grandfather. A party was formed to search for him but they never returned after the first initial day. Still no sign of the kid. _

_ A second party was formed to look for the first one and the little boy. The boy wasn’t found, but they did find the first party. And guys, the people in this first party weren’t your run of the mill Joe Smoe’s from down the street. They were rangers, wilderness guides and even hunters.Every single one of them were found at the end of the Warrior’s Respite near the entrance to the thickest part of the woods. All were ripped to shreds and all of their intestines and organs were suspiciously missing.” _

Blue paused his storytelling once again and turned the camera around as they came upon a plain official log building with a large white sign above the door that read ‘Lodge #4137’ He turned it back to his beaming face.

_ “Okay, so we’re gonna head inside the station now. This is the last bit of civilization we’re gonna see until Sunday.” _The screen went black as the camera shut off. The video reverted to the very beginning. 

Frisk gestured to Edge, “Mark it on the map,” she said. “The log book showed they arrived at the Eastern Ranger’s station at aprox 10 am Saturday morning. The Fell skeleton made the notations in the notebook he’d pulled from his inventory. Frisk pulled up the next clip and frowned. 

“Odd,” she murmured, scrolling through the video. The screen remained completely black. “There doesn't seem to be any visual at all. He might have accidentally turned it on but the time stamp shows it was taken roughly 30 mins after the last one. Swapy, how far away from Ranger’s station is this cabin your car was found at yesterday?”

Startled, the swap monster, looked away from the blank screen to the map that was spread out on the table in front of them. They had marked ‘x’s’ over each place that the boys had either said that they were going or where evidence had been collected. The largest area was a small cabin. There, they had found Swapy’s car, unlocked, and it looked like no one had touched it in a few days. A fire that had appeared to have been put out hours before in the cabin and a tent that held two sleeping bags, blankets and two sets of still folded clothing had also been recovered and placed in the evidence box . There appeared to have been no food or water left. 

The swap skeleton leaned over and followed the driving trail that led to the cabin. “It looks like it’s a little less than ten miles from the station to the cabin.” he said. God they had been so far out. He bit down the newest wave of guilt. They should never have been that far. He should have known that it wasn’t safe. He should have- no. He couldn’t get distracted now. Chara placed a hand on his, giving him an encouraging smile. 

Frisk nodded again. Edge scribbled down the information and they continued. 

(Saturday 11:19am)

“_ The ranger said that we were the only ones out here this weekend, right?” _ Came Viper’s voice through the speakers, sounding nervous

Blue grunted, lower than Viper’s. Was he sitting on the ground?._ “Uh yeah?” _ he said. _ “Why see some sexy wood nymph out there or something?” _Swapy snorted. Leave it to his little brother to go straight into the gutter…

_ “Why would you think something like that?” _ Viper asked sourly. _ “And no, I just thought I saw a shadow staring at us from behind one of the trees.” _

_ “C’mon Grandma,” _ Blue laughed. _ “I thought we talked about this? Why are you still freaking out like a wittle baby?” _

_ “Fuck you,” _ Viper spat out. _ “I don’t understand how you’re not worried. People literally go missing and or are killed out here and all you care about is your stupid Instagram. Sorry if I’m the only one who actually cares about our safety.” _ The file cut off there. 

“Blue must have called me after this,” Swapy murmured absently. “He sounded really upset and I could barely understand him since the reception was terrible, but I got that Viper was mad at him and he was wondering if they should call their trip off.” Frisk looked at him with a raised eyebrow as she loaded up the next clip.

“Over a little disagreement?” she asked. Swapy shrugged awkwardly. 

“Blue doesn’t do well with arguments and confrontations outside of battle,” Chara supplied. “His usual response is to run and hide until someone goes to find him.” 

“That’s why I told him to just give Viper some space.” Swapy explained a bit sheepishly. “ They’d been on the road for a while after all and that’s enough to fray anyone’s nerves.” Frisk hummed and said nothing else on the subject. 

“It also sounds like my bro spotted something in the woods too. Kid’s got mad observation skills,” Rex spoke up. “Your brother should have fucking listened to him, instead of just blowing him off. ” Swapy shot the other skeleton a withering look. Iris set a hand on the Swap monster’s arm before yet another argument could break out between the two. 

“Yes, we get it,” Edge waved off Rex. He’d seen first hand just how well Blue handled verbal altercations. “Mistakes were obviously made on all sides. Can we continue?” Frisk took over once more, leaning back against the sofa.

“Well we can assume that they must have made up pretty quickly because it looks like the next two clips are from… Saturday afternoon...and...Sunday night...” she said. “Two separate ones. The first one looks like it’s close to 15 mins long and the second one is…. About 10 mins.” The group settled down again to watch the monitor as the Ambassador pressed play.

(Saturday 4:19pm)

This video began in the woods, the crunching of twigs and leaves nearly overpowering the sensitive speakers. Blue’s smiling face appeared in the frame. He looked like he’d just been laughing really hard, even still wiping some tears from his light blue eyelights in the middle of breathless giggles.

_ “What’s up guys,” he started off. “So the freak snowstorm is finally over and we decided to go exploring a little. Unfortunately, we’ve already had a bit of a casualty.” _He turned the camera around to show an irate Viper sprawled on the ground, one leg sticking out in front of him and his knee drawn up to his ribcage. Beside him was a very large log sticking out from the earth. To everyone watching, it was easy to infer exactly what had happened. 

Frisk had to pause until the light laughter of the others (and herself) had died down. Rex was still groaning about how clumsy his brother was when she started the video again. 

_ “Grandma out here trying to break a hip,” Blue laughed. Viper glared at the camera and shot a very rude gesture toward them. It only caused Blue to laugh harder. _

_ “Fucking film your video,” he spat. “And leave me alone.” _The camera switched again to Blue’s face. Swapy let out a distressed noise. He reached out toward the screen of the laptop again. He covered his mouth with his hand to stop anything else from escaping; he didn’t want to cause a scene. 

It was just… In the previous videos Blue had looked relatively content but in this one.. Fuck. His little brother looked so goddamn happy that it physically hurt to see. He wanted to see that smile again in real life so badly. He wanted to hug him. Hell, he wanted to tie a leash around him so that he couldn't ever get hurt again. 

A small nudge by his shoulder made him look up. A skeletal hand was pushing a single cigarette and a lighter toward him. He looked up to see Rex pointedly looking away from him with a light blush on his face. His jaw twitched, remembering Frisk’s words from earlier. They were in this together. Everyone in this room was grieving, but they were also fighting together for the two missing monsters. He took the offered nicotine with a small bow of his head. He caught Frisk’s smile out of the corner of his eye as she hit play once again. 

_ “... ap said there are some old cabin ruins or something out here.” Blue said. The camera moved as he walked. “So we’ll just let Grandma collect himself, and start walking down this path and I’ll kind of tell you where we’re headed.” _

_ “So when this place was converted into a park, they built several different cabins along the trails so that families could come stay. When the disappearances started, most of them were condemned and left abandoned as people started getting more and more scared of the area. Nowadays, you can find them deep in the backwoods, like the one we decided to camp out in tonight. We brought our own tents and sleeping bags because like I said, these places have been abandoned for years and they’re not the cleanest or the safest.” _

The camera panned around, back behind the Swap monster to the others in his company and Frisk stopped it.Viper was sulkily waking behind Blue with a large duffle bag like backpack slung on his back. The bag had been found near an old decrepit house about a mile away from their original campsite. “Note,” she said simply and started the video. The camera returned to Blue who continued to talk. 

_ “Because it’s not the safest place, we won’t be staying for long but it's supposedly where a lot of really creepy shit happens. So we’re gonna check it out really quickly and head back to base. Guy holy shit, you have to see this!” _Once again the perspective of the camera changed as the house came into view.

The house, if it could even be called that, was in even worse condition than the cabin that Blue had inventively dubbed “their base”. Frisk could definitely see how dangerous it was from where they were standing. The whole front of the house had caved into the upper floor. Trees and bushes were overgrown through the windows and the broken wooden boards. The camera moved closer as they walked into a smallish clearing and looked over the ruins. 

_ “This is so freaking cool!” he squealed in delight, spinning around in excitement. _Viper on the other hand didn’t look happy. Not in the slightest.

_ “Are you serious right now?” he squawked, taking a step back. “I’m not going anywhere near that, it’s practically falling apart.” Blue pouted at him. _

_ “Don’t look at me like that,” he grumbled. “We could blow on that building and knock it down.” Blue gave him an exasperated grin. _

_ “Oh come on, Grandma,” he asked and swung an arm out like he was presenting the mansion as his personal home. “It looks perfectly fine… a perfect example of architecture-” _The footage abruptly ended. 

“What the fuck just happened?” Rex shouted. Frisk hurriedly pulled up the next file and ran her cursor through the screenshots. They were mostly dark save for a few spots of light in a few of the frames. 

“There’s no visual to this either,” she announced. She finally gave up and hit play, taking the hand of the shaking skeleton beside her. She had a feeling that this clip wasn’t going to end well and Swapy was already hanging on by a thread. 

(Sunday 11:13pm)

It looked like it was now nighttime The house was dark. And quiet. Even though there was debris literally laying everywhere, you could barely hear the monster’s footsteps. From the look of the shoes in the viewfinder, it was Blue that they were following. Where was he even going_ ? _

There was a staircase in front of him. Old and rickety. The wood of the steps looked damn near rotted through. It would in no way be safe for him, slight in stature as he was, to climb it.

“What the fuck is he doing?” Iris whispered shakily. 

The first faded stair groaned under his weight. What the hell was he doing? The second nearly gave way under him_ . _Higher and higher he climbed. 

The top floor looked like it was little more than thin slivers of wood held together by a few rusty nails. Blue was looking around at the complete darkness that surrounded him. The small dot of his flashlight paled in comparison to the darkness of the caved in ceiling. The monster took a lumbering step forward on the shaky hardwood floor.

_ “H-hello?” _ he called out hesitantly. _ “I-is anyone here?” There was nothing but the quiet whisper of the wind through the holes and cracks in the walls. _

_ The camera shook, as Blue shivered _ . _ “I heard you outside. Do you need help or something?” He took another labored step. _

_ “Where are you?” he asked. “Are you a ghost or something? Are you doing this to me?” _

A sound from below made him jump_ . _Was that Viper? The sounds were frantic. Footsteps. It had to be Viper right? No one wanted to think about what else it could be...

_ “Viper?” he whimpered. “Grandma is that you?” _

_ “Blue,” _ someone shouted out from below desperately. Definitely Viper then. _ “Blue where are you? Answer me, dammit.” _

_ “Lies.” _Blue groaned as his shaking grew stronger. He gagged and stumbled forward, his balance thrown off by some unseen force.

This wasn’t a panic attack. Swapy had seen him have plenty of those to know that for a fact. This was something entirely different.

The flimsy flooring finally gave way with a sickening crack and he felt his ankle snap as he fell downward into the pitch darkness behind him.

_ "<strike>AXE!</strike>" _ Viper called out, sounding much closer now. The name he’d said was garbled and unclear. _ “I need help here.” _There was a loud “pop” right as the video cut off. She closed her eyes. Jesus fucking Christ. 

“How many more of these things do we need to watch?” It was Edge who had snapped this time.

And really Frisk could not blame him. It was like watching a horror movie, only the actors were people they knew and loved. She wanted to scream out to them; tell them what was going on, and that they were coming to get them. Rex and Papyrus were close to breaking, she could feel it. It hurt her own soul to put them through anymore, but these videos were the closest thing they had to tell them where the two missing skeletons were. 

There were still a few more left. All varying in length. Could she in good conscience make their older brothers watch such terrifying things?

“We have a few left,” She said quietly. “We can take a break if anyone needs it.” She took hold of the monster beside her, Swapy and caressed the hand that shook as he fiddled with the cigarette and lighter Rex had given him. 

“Keep going,” he croaked. “I want to know what happened to my brother. And who the fuck Viper was talking to.” Frisk nodded, and set up the next. Interestingly, there didn’t seem to be a timestamp on this one. Not even in the file description or location.

“Did either of them mention anything about someone else going with them?” she asked. Both of her fellow humans and the older skeleton monster all shook their heads. She frowned. Well that was concerning.

  
  
  


(???????)

The images were grainy and warped. The voices of Blue and Viper warbled in and out. Neither of them were holding the phone, how had the camera turned on then? She turned the volume up just so they could catch the little of what they said. 

_ “I don’t feel like myself, Viper.” Blue said. The picture flashed in and out Viper blink. “...in my dream last night too. ...shouldn’t trust the voices or faces…” _

_ “... from my nightmare...your voice. Do you think they could be related?” Blue hummed. _

The screen flashed and the footage picked up again. Frisk felt her heart clenched at the clear and desperate sobbing that came from the young man huddled in front of a fire. The footage again was the quality of potato but they could clearly make out Viper.

_ He was holding an unconscious Blue in his arms. He was wailing for someone to come save them. He wailed for his older brother to come take him home, for Blue to wake up and not leave him alone. They could even make out Swapy’s name among those the young skeleton screamed out. _

_ “I want to go home! Please! Please! Leave me alone!” _

The video cut again and Frisk had to pause again. She let out a shaky breath. “Keep.. fucking… going…” Rex whispered hoarsely behind her. Swapy was silent beside. If she could take this pain from them. But she’d promised. Life or death. Those were the stipulations they’d set. As long as there was a chance, they’d let the timeline play out. Besides there was no telling if a reset or a reload would even work with a foreign magic in play.

The princess closed her eyes and shakily hit play again.

  
  


The boys were still in the cabin. It looked like it was morning now.The picture was much clearer now and they watched the two monsters curled up together, Blue had wrapped himself protectively around his best friend and he had a fiercely determined shine in his eye lights. Viper looked much more calm than he had the night before. He was wrapped up in the blanket Blue had been in previously. He looked so completely exhausted, even with a mug of something in his hands.

“Looks like the “Mom Friend Override” kicked in,” Chara noted sardonically. “Happens every time someone he cares about gets threatened.” Frisk hummed. That wasn’t an uncommon phenomenon in situations like this. She was just surprised that it was _ Blue _ who’d gone Mama Bear and not Viper. 

_ “I’m tired of just waiting around here like a sitting duck.” Blue said. “The ranger’s station can’t be more than a few hours' hike from here. If we leave now, we can make it there by this afternoon. We’re bound to see other campers or rangers now and maybe there’s still a search party out there we can meet up with.” _

_ Blue stood up with a flourish. He held a hand out to Viper and gave him a small grin. _

_ “What do you say, Grandma? Want to go kick some supernatural ass?” Viper grinned back and eagerly took the offered hand. _

_ “Fuck yeah, I do.” he said. _

The footage ended there. Swapy swallowed beside Frisk. So they left the cabin. He knew they had. But to see them so confident was encouraging. They were fighting back. His brother was a fighter. Always had been. 

“Are we ready for the last video on the phone?” Frisk asked. For the millionth time, he was grateful that she was here. He didn’t even care if she ever returned his feelings. He was just glad that she was here and rallying them to actually do something. Without her, Swapy was positive that he would have sunk deeper into grief and depression, lamenting the loss of his baby brother as he slowly Fell Down. 

The fact that she had brought Edge here was also curious, though he had a feeling that he knew what she might be planning once they could pinpoint a location of Blue and Viper. 

“Let’s do it,” Chara said, “There has to be something in that one. Something that gives us a location or at least a starting point. Frisk nodded. 

“We have a timestamp on this one too,” she noted excitedly. “It’s definitely the most recent one. And it looks like it was taken _ just this morning. _” Everyone perked up and looked at the screen with bated breath. They had confirmation at last. The boys were alive just a few hours ago. 

“Play it,” Edge breathed from behind them.

  
  


(Wednesday 10:34 pm)

_ “...Viper?” Blue voice sounded far away, even though he was standing right next to him. Wasn’t he? He spun around to face his best friend, eyelight wide with fear and thrust his phone at the other. _

_ “It’s here…” he gasped out, shaking. _

_ Blue stared at the phone in disbelief. They both jumped at the sound of a crunch that was right behind them. Turning, they spied a lone figure stalking toward them. _

_ “ _ <strike>_ Axe _ </strike>_<strike> ?</strike>” Viper called out cautiously. The hunched shadowy figure now in front of them took a single staggering step forward. Blue grabbed Viper’s arm tightly and pushed him slightly behind him. His best friend made an offended noise and pulled away. _

_ Viper cleared his throat and tried again. “ _ _<strike> Axe</strike> _ _ ? Are you okay? We haven’t seen you for a while….” Blue suddenly gagged beside him. He took a step back. _

_ The wind picked up around them, blowing their jackets against them and making their eyes water from the intensity of it. _

_ “We need to get out of here,” Blue shouted over the gusts. Before either of them could even attempt to move, the shadow creature in front of them let out a blood curdling scream that nearly made their ears bleed and disappeared in what appeared to be a ghastly amount of black shadows… _

_ The two friends stood back to back in the clearing. Dark clouds suddenly blacking the sun above them. The wind howled and the trees groaned around them as they appeared to scan the area around them, frantic for a sign of their foe. This wasn’t like any battle they’d been in in the past. The skinwalker didn’t play by monster rules and they had absolutely no idea what to expect. _

_ Screeching laughter sounded all around them, mocking them as they trembled in the middle of the darkened clearing pressed up against one another. _

_ Both tried to summon their weapons. Both had no success. _

_ “Shut the fuck up, you fucker!” Viper screamed out. “Leave us alone!” It laughed again. _

_ “ FILTHY FUCKING LITTLE FLY.” it now sounded exactly like Blue. “BELIEVING YOU HAVE A CHOICE.” _

_ “You heard him,” The actual Blue shouted from behind him. “You wanna fight?! Come out and face us, yourself!” The skinwalker laughed again, haunting. The sound came from everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. _

_ Suddenly, just as soon as it started, it stopped. The wind disappeared. The sun returned. Everything was calm. The two monsters just stood there, clearly unwilling to drop their guard. It couldn’t have been that easy... _

_ “Foolish child.” The voice. Close. Right behind Viper. In front of Blue. Viper flipped around as quickly as he could as he heard his friend gasp. He turned just in time to see what had caused the Swap monster to gasp. _

The group watched in utter horror as an inky, shadow like appendage whipped across Blue face, blacking out his left eye completely as blood spurted into the air.

_ “BLUE!” Viper screeched as his best friend fell to the muddy ground clutching at his face. _

The camera shut off. The video ended, there was nothing else besides the deafening silence in the living room now. Just like that; their hope diminished into nothing.

Swapy was shaking even more violently than before. Frisk could hear the tell tale signs of someone fighting back tears. She looked at both Chara and Iris on each side of her and Swapy and Rex., their eyes were dry. Concerned and scared yes, but dry. It definitely wasn’t Edge… which left.. Rex? She didn’t think that Rex was the type to cry at something like this but… 

She shot Iris a questioning look and motioned to where Rex sat. Iris followed her stare and bit her lip. She nodded slightly. Well shit, it looked like the stress had been way too much for the swapfell monster. She cleared her throat. 

“So we need to take a break?” she asked quietly. Everyone was silent. They have been going at it for a while now. 

“We should get something to eat,” Edge eventually replied. The two other humans nodded. Iris stood up and walked over to the only other monster wearing a bright orange jacket. His skull was low, the fuzzy hood hiding his face. She knelt down in front of him and took his hands.

“We’ll order some pizza and we can all calm down okay?” she said, pulling Rex- no- it was Pup now wasn’t it- up to follow her to the kitchen. Edge went along with them leaving Frisk and Chara in the front room to calm down Swapy. Frisk ran her hand up and down his arm to soothe him. 

“We’ll come back to it,” she whispered.”The evidence showed there were at least two people in that cabin early this morning remember?” Swapy shuddered, small sobs escaping as he curled in on himself. 

“I want him back,” he wailed. “I can’t take this anymore.” Chara rubbed his back.

“There’s still hope, Pap” she said. “You’ve never given up on him before. You can’t start now.” Swapy continued to cry, oblivious to their words. From the kitchen they could Iris trying to comfort a wailing Pup.

Chara looked at her friend over the top of Swapy’s shuddering skull. What the hell were they supposed to do now?

Ch/end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Question? Angry words? Come see me here: https://history-fanatic-4-ever.tumblr.com
> 
> While you're there, check out this amazing fanart too! :https://history-fanatic-4-ever.tumblr.com/post/617720502251814912/buynootacoffee-blue-viper-and-axe-belong-to
> 
> Also don't forget to check out the creator of this lovely AU https://imjustalazycat.tumblr.com/post/185339264234/dlots-masterpost


	11. Darkness Before the Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which nothing really happens

Chapter 11

  
  


_ Wednesday 4:45pm (real time) The backwoods of Mount Ebott National Park _

  
  


The pain wasn’t what he’d expected it to be when his eyelight went dark. Oh no. It was much much worse. The whole left side of his skull exploded in white hot agony. He couldn’t find his voice; couldn’t scream; couldn’t move. He couldn’t do fucking anything…

The dark laughter of their foe cascaded around him like a rain shower. He could feel himself shaking violently. Viper’s voice behind him was muffled like there was cotton stuffed inside his skull. Another sound, high pitched and whining.

Oh. He actually was screaming. He reached up and clutched at his head in anguish, sinking down to the muddy leaves below him. Oh god he was blind now wasn’t he? He could feel the blood and tears gushing down his face.

  
  


The wind whipped around VIper harshly as he watched his best friend fall to the ground, clenching his face as blood gushed from the open wound now present on his skull.

VIper was frozen, unable to anything else other than stare at the horrifying scene in front of him. Oh god no. Not again, not  _ again. _

“ _ Failure.”  _ whispered a voice in the back of his mind. It sounded exactly like Blue’s voice. “  _ You failed again. You can’t protect anyone-” _

_ “ _ That’s  _ enough _ ” he hissed, clenching his fist by his side. He couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t just sit by and let this… this…  _ beast _ tormented someone he cared about any longer. 

“Leave us alone,” he growled out venomously. He sank down, wrapping himself protectively around Blue’s shivering form. “Get the  _ fuck _ away from us.” The shadowy being continued to laugh, slithering around the two boys like a smoky demon from the depths of hell.

“You think you can stop me  _ child _ ?” it questioned. It stopped directly in front of the much smaller monsters, Blue’s blood dripping menacingly from it’s sharp claws. Viper flinched backwards, pulling his friend with him. It had taken on his own face, distorted with sunken eye sockets and a strange black goop oozing from each socket like dense sludge. 

“You think that you have the power to defy me?” It grinned at him with sharp crooked teeth. Blue whimpered in his arms.” Viper tightened his grip on him, attempting to hide the swap monster from the skinwalker’s sight. 

“V..iper…” Blue wheezed out painfully. “It hurts. It hurts…” The swapfell monster growled, something inside of him snapping. He was so fucing  _ done _ with this bullshit. He wanted to go home. He wanted to see his brother and his friends.

“Get back you piece of shit,” he snarled. Using what little magic he had left, he swiped out at the beast’s face, a bright glowing blue knife flickering in his outstretched hand. 

It dodged his attack easily, gliding away from him. It floated above the boys, Viper’s face now gone and only swirling darkness remaining; it’s eyes white and expressionless. 

Viper glared up at it, anger coursing through his entire being and despite the tears that bubbling up in his eyelights, he found himself shouting up at it.

“I’m not afraid of you. You won't hurt anyone anymore.” 

Everything went deadly silent. They stared each other down, Viper refusing to back down. He desperately wanted to look after the crying skeleton in his arms but he dared not turn away, terrified that the monster above him would strike the moment his back was turned. 

  
  


“You heard the kid, Asshole,” came a familiar voice behind them. “Get lost.” Viper flinched as a figure appeared in the corner of his vision. Even the shadowy monster was surprised as the older skeleton strode casually onto the scene. It’s eyes narrowed in rage.

“ _ YOU _ …” it hissed angrily. The wind picked up yet again, whipping dirt and leaves around them. Viper shielded his eyes from the debris flying around him, trying his best to shield Blue as well.

Axe, the real one remained standing beside his younger counterparts, smiling at their attacker without a care in the world. He struck a rather terrifying figure with his torn blue hoodie rippling in the violent wind, his one good eye glowing bright red illuminating his wide grin. Viper shivered at the sight, he didn’t know exactly how powerful the older monster was, but he found that he felt a little sorry for the shadowy monster who’d attacked them.

“Aw, c’mon  _ buddy _ ,” he smirked lightly stepping in front of the boys. “You can’t say that you didn’t miss me.” Viper blinked. Maybe it was the wind, or the uncontrollable adrenaline that ran through him but he thought that the other male looked… different somehow. Not the way that the skinwalker had but he thought he could see Axe’s body flickering like he was having trouble controlling his magic.

“Go back to the cabin,” he hissed. “I’ll distract this bastard long enough for you to get away.” Viper didn’t hesitate. He trembled as he attempted to drag his now alarmingly silent best friend off of the ground. Shit was he already going into shock from blood loss?

“Come on, Blue,” he urged, pulling him up by his clothing. The swap skeleton went slowly, his hand still covering his bleeding socket, the blood still trickling down his cheek slowly and dripped onto the muddy ground. 

“You think that you can so easily escape me, you insignificant little fly?!” The skinwalker roared in fury as the two boys struggled to get away. Viper cringed at the sound. Blue whimpered again and curled in on Viper. The swapfell skeleton shut down the white hot flash of rage at the broken sound. He wanted to murder the son of a bitch who’d hurt his best friend but he knew he’d be no match for the horrifying creature.

“Don’t listen to him,” Axe shouted, the telltale sounds of a magical weapon booting up. He took a moment to glance at their friend and blinked. The horrortale monster’s form was still flickering in the wake of the skinwalker’s fury and for a moment… so brief that he thought he’d just imagined it but he thought he saw the figure of a young dark haired woman standing exactly where Axe was. He blinked and Axe was there once again. Shaking his head, he turned and continued to lead Blue away from the clearing, not even realizing that they’d left their remaining supplies behind.

  
  
  


He didn’t know how long they walked for but as soon as he felt like they were far enough away, Viper sat Blue down against the trunk of a large tree, and kneeled down beside him. Blue sniffled and curled his legs up underneath himself, away from his friend. He still hadn’t let go of his skull. Viper frantically searched his pockets for something to stem the blood flow. He had only a few wadded up napkins, that wouldn’t do anything at all. He sighed, there was nothing for it. 

He untied his scarf from around his neck and squeezed Blue’s shoulder to get him to look his way. His friend jumped and tried to shy further away from him.

“C’mon Blue,” he whispered softly, rubbing his shoulder. “We need to bandage that before it gets infected.” Blue was still crying, albeit quietly. Viper couldn’t blame him, he knew from experience the kind of pain right now, but he had to act fast. He had no healing magic but he could at least wrap his head until they could get him to a doctor. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Blue wailed, clutching onto him. Viper quickly ripped his scarf in half and used one half to wipe away the blood and tears from his face and around the deep gouges around his darkened eye socket. He’d be lucky if this only scarred his skull if he didn’t lose the entire thing. 

“Shh,” he hushed him, wiping his tears as fast as they came. “It’s not your fault, it’s alright.” Gradually, Blue was able to calm down, his cries slowing to sniffles and hiccups. He winced everytime Viper’s scarf brushed against the terrible slash marks. When his friend had cleaned as much as he could, Viper gently but firmly wound the other half of his scarf around the left side of his skull in a makeshift bandage.

“You know,” Viper said conversationally as he tied the scarf off. “Most best friends choose to get matching bracelets or even tattoos not traumatic facial scars.” Blue huffed and leaned back against the tree. He closed his remaining eyelight and sighed. He looked completely defeated. 

“We should go help Axe,” he said. He knew that they couldn’t stay here but he just didn’t have the energy to move or do anything… He felt Viper sit down next to him.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea in your state, besides, Axe told us to go back to the cabin.” Viper answered. “But we can rest for a minute if you need to.” Blue hummed. Yeah just a small rest would be good.

  
  


~ ~ ~

_ Thursday 2:43 am Frisk’s PoV _

It was so freaking early. The young ambassador stood outside the swapfell household, leaning against Edge’s car. The fell monster rested in the driver’s seat, leaning against the padded headrest and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. She bit her lip.

The last night had taken a lot out of them, both mentally and emotionally, but none more so than Swapy and Pup. The two older brothers had been worn ragged by the past week and Frisk couldn’t blame them. Nearly a whole week of not knowing the fate of the two people most important to them had definitely taken a toll on their psyches. It only made her more determined to bring closure to the families. 

After everyone had had some time to calm down, the princess laid out her full plan to the group. She’d explained that the reason that she’d wanted Edge involved was because she’d figured that either Swapy or Pup would not have waited much longer before following their brothers’ trail and searching for the boys themselves (she noted that Swapy had not denied her claim in the slightest) and since both of them had the hp of a potato, they would stand very little chance at surviving an encounter with an ancient Native American monster.

She had already asked her Alphys to meet them at ranger’s lodge where the boys had last been seen. Alphys had agreed to lend them some of her own communication equipment so that they would be able to easily track who ever ventured into the forest without it going out range. 

Chara and Iris had gotten a hold of their own Alphys’ to provide backup. The two warriors were going to stay at the lodge until they were absolutely needed since Frisk didn’t think it would be a good idea for more than three to go after the Skinwalker. There was no need for them to give it more fodder to try and trick them with. 

They had solid evidence that both Blue and Viper were still alive as early as the previous day. But they were out of time for planning.

So there they were, piling everything they could bring into Edges’ convertible. Frisk had sent out Chara and Iris to pick up some rather unconventional methods of protection. Things like black salt, and sage that she’d read could help to ward off a skinwalker. The two would meet them at the lodge when they’d gotten the items.

She watched as Swapy and Pup finally exited the house. She had left it up to the older swap monster to explain to his counterpart that he would also have to remain behind at the lodge.

As the two skeletons made their way to the car, Frisk noticed that they had both changed out of their usual attire. Swapy had traded his customary orange and black jacket for a bright orange worn hoodie. Pup hadn’t really changed other than putting a baseball cap. The swapfell monster’s eyelights were rimmed in red and he was sniffling softly as he walked toward them. Frisk felt for him, she really did but she knew that it just wouldn’t be safe for him out there with his already unstable mental state. She’d make it up to him when she returned his little brother to him. 

Swapy’s eyes, on the other hand, were completely dry, but he held a determined gleam in his light orange orbs. She’d seen that look before, this skinwalker was about to feel every single one of its sins crawling on its slimy back.

“Well, are we ready to end this nightmare?” she asked. Swapy nodded solemnly. 

  
  
  


The drive was long and silent. Frisk had managed to snag a few minutes of sleep but found that she was just too nervous for it to be any use. They’d gone over the plan multiple times; everyone knew their role. They couldn’t get any more prepared than they already were. Armed with as many healing items and food they could carry, she could only hope that it would be enough.

“Answer me this, Princess,” Edge spoke up, startling her from her thoughts. She glanced sideways to the driver’s seat, letting him know that he had her attention. She briefly looked into the back seat, finding that their older companions had both fallen asleep during the long drive. Good. Swapy would need every ounce of energy he could get for what he was about to face.

“This entire situation has nothing to do with your kingdom, correct?” Edge continued. “I understand that it is a concern for the consulate but why go through all of this effort yourself? Why not send someone in your stead? It’s not as if we are without resources, Viper is an adopted child of a queen as well...” Frisk sighed and stood up from her position with a small grunt. She had been expecting the question.

Crossing her arms, she cleared her throat and put her thoughts in order. Why  _ was _ she doing all of this? She didn’t actually know either Blue or Viper and just from the interactions she’d had over the past two days proved that these were not the same monsters she’d met briefly years ago. All she knew was that she had to try.

“I’m not really sure how to answer that honestly,” she admitted. “Maybe it’s because Chara and Iris asked me to help. Maybe I just can’t leave well enough alone.” She frowned, her tone turning dark.

“Or maybe it’s because four years ago a sixteen year foster girl went missing under a mountain and no one besides her best friend bothered to search for her for six months and when she was finally found, she woke up alone in a hospital bed with a single promise in her mind that no one would ever be left behind to suffer what she did.” The whole car fell back into silence after her explanation. 

By the time they pulled up to the wooden ranger’s station, the sun was just beginning to peek out across the sky. The sky was clear and there was a light breeze blowing through the dense trees that surrounded them. It was looking like it was going to be a beautiful day. Frisk smiled softly, listening to the birds chirping in the distance. 

“Alright sleepyheads, time to get up, we’re here.” she called back to the snoozing skeletons in the back. Swapy snapped back to consciousness instantly. He looked out the window and frowned. Pup was slower to wake but he too stared out his window at the scenery with a downturned mouth. 

“It’s pretty out here.” he commented sleepily. “Why is it so pretty?” The princess’s eyes softened. 

“Sometimes the darkest things hide in the prettiest places, Pup,” she said. “How are you feeling?” Pup scrunched up his face in thought. 

“Fine. I just wish I could come with you.” he pouted. Frisk smiled. 

“I know, but I swear that when this is over you and your brother can go eat as much pizza as you can hold.” Pup nodded, still looking a little troubled. 

“Let’s not waste any more time then,” Edge said, unbuckling his seat belt and opening his door. “Those two have been out there long enough.” 

“Yeah,” Swapy laughed darkly doing the same. “I can’t wait to...talk… to this monster…” Frisk was definitely feeling sorry for the skinwalker now. Hell hath no fury like a big brother in protection mode.

The atmosphere inside the lodge was somber at best when the four of them walked into the lobby. There was a desk with a single ranger sitting and staring boredly off into the distance. Pamphlets, maps and guidebooks were littered across the wooden counter in lopsided piles. There was a shelf off to the side that held basic toiletries and camping supplies. Frisk could see computers and other electronic machines through an open door behind the wolf-like monster. 

He blinked when they entered, eyeing them warily. Frisk supposed they did make for a rather intimidating group; 3 rather large skeleton monsters (2 of which looked like they belonged in a biker gang and one who probably didn’t look exactly friendly) all following behind a small young very human woman.

“Hi there,” she greeted cheerfully, giving a little wave and a smile. “I know it’s disgustingly early but we’re supposed to be meeting some people here to search for the two missing monsters? Has anyone else shown up yet?” The young monster blinked again as a look of recognition spread over his face.

“OH! Uh yeah,” he exclaimed, jumping hurriedly. “Right this way, Your Highness. A small kid looking monster said that you’d be coming. She was with her… sisters…? Anyway, we’ve got them set up in the control room.” He led them around the desk to the open door which Frisk assumed was the room he was talking about. She tried to tune out Swapy’s teasing snickers behind her. 

“We’re real honored to have someone as important as you come all the way to our little park,” the ranger continued to babble on. “If you need anything at all, just let us know, we don’t have a whole lot here but what do have is yours to use Your uh Grace.” Frisk fought the urge to roll her eyes. Swapy continued to laugh quietly behind her. She even thought that she heard Edge laugh quietly. 

“Just Frisk is fine, thank you,” she bit out through a clenched smile. “I’m not here for publicity, I’m here to find my missing friends.” The ranger gave her a confused stare. The human skirted around him with another smile, the three skeletons following closely behind.

“I think we have everything we need,” Edge piped up stiffly. “We’ll be sure to inform you if that happens to change.” He very firmly nudged the ranger out of the room and shut the door behind him.

“About time you showed up, Beanpole,” an aggressive sounding woman said, startling the human. She turned to take in the room they were now in. 

She could naturally recognize her own Alphys, typing away at the one actual computer in the room. She was laser focused on whatever she was working on. Beside her was a familiar looking fish monster dressed in a very similar fashion to the other scientist, reading off of a piece of paper. She assumed that this had to be one of the swap Undyne since she also sported a pair of wing tipped glasses and had much shorter hair than hers did. 

The other two monsters in the room made her chuckle, oh yes, she could definitely see how they could be mistaken for Alphys’ “sisters” Although they were both quite a bit larger than she was

Both of them were decked out in the royal guard armor of their respective kingdoms, Underswapy Alphys wore shining silver armor with gray accents; Frisk noted the lack of boots or shows similar to her own reptilian monster. Swapfell Alphys wore a darker armor with black and navy blue accents. She at least wore some sort of foot covering. Jesus did everyone who came from a “fell” verse look like they shopped at HOt Topic? She shook her head with a small smile and turned to the monster who’d spoken to them. It was the Swapy Alphys. Swaphys? Grey AL? Whatever, she’d come up with better nicknames later. 

“Awful  _ coldblooded  _ of you to make fun of my height now,” Swapy replied to her with a tired grin. Frisk noticed that it didn’t reach his eyes. Swapy Alphys rolled her eyes at him. 

“Weak, even for you Papyrus,” she commented. Swapy shrugged and walked over to where the two scientists were muttering to one another. 

“Nice to see you Undyne. Wish it was under better circumstances.” The red headed monster glanced up at him nonchalantly and nodded silently. 

“So what’s going on? Why all the numbers?” he asked.

“We uh ran into a bit of an issue,” Undyne said nervously glancing at the others in the room. Frisk immediately walked over to them, brow furrowed. She winced at the light that was coming in through the windows directly in front of them. 

“Issue?” she asked. “What is it? You didn’t mention anything on the phone earlier.” Both of them jumped slightly at her sudden appearance. The tiny reptilian monster recovered faster but didn’t look up from what she was typing. 

“I-it’s n-not so m-much an i-issue,” she started. “M-more l-like an u-unsettling observation.” The ambassador scrunched her nose in irritation. Of fucking course.

“What  _ kind _ of observation.” Edge asked testily and walked over to them as well, Pup following after him. Frisk answered for the scientists. How could she have missed something like this?

“Oh not much, just the fact that this monster isn’t like the monsters from the Underground in regards to it’s magical use.” Frisk pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Explain.” Edge snapped out, crossing his arms and glaring at the two monsters in front of them. Frisk shot him a reprimanding look. 

“W-well, think of it like this,” her Alphys continued. “It’s common knowledge that monsters from the Underground- monsters like us are made up of a composition of magic, compassion and mercy. In essence, it is our magic that keeps us alive. It fuels us and in your cases, literally keeps your bodies from collapsing. When you think about it, it’s our souls that give us life.”

“This is all kid stuff,” Dark Alphys (nope, didn’t like that one) growled out. “How does it apply to Viper and Blue?” Frisk cleared her throat and took over. 

“Well, humans aren’t like that,” she explained. “Humans are composed of several different minerals, blood and bones, keratin and other things. Completely different from monsters.”

Undyne took over from there, pulling up the tablet she’d been holding. “It’s also known that when pit against one another, the soul with the stronger intent will win. Soul traits like perseverance and determination which are common in human souls are far stronger than that of a normal monster thus when a human goes against a monster with murderous or harmful intent, the human emerges the victor.” Frisk coughed and averted her eyes, forcing away unpleasant memories.

“So what you’re saying,” Swapy said slowly, his eye-lights going dark. “ that because this skinwalker or whatever is created from the worst of humanity’s qualities and the darkest of human souls, it's actually way stronger than what we originally thought.”

Frisk slumped and groaned into her hands.

“Yep. That about sums it up.”

  
  


Ch/End

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really like this chapter at all but I am thoroughly sick of looking at it 
> 
> Where have I been? Around.... new computer, new job, high stress/depression; you know, the usual. 
> 
> Info about "soul" comes from the Blue, Orange, and Dark green books in the Snowndin Libraby
> 
> Like what I do? Support me here: https://ko-fi.com/V7V51ZFRQ
> 
> Or scream at me here: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/history-fanatic-4-ever


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